Godzilla vs Marvel Saga: Book 1: Worlds Collide
by HeatseekerX51
Summary: Reed Richards has done it. He's discovered an alternate universe, this one populated not by super-powered heroes and villains, but by god-like monsters. In an attempt to help them protect their world, Mr. Fantastic, along with other Marvel heroes unwittingly begin a conflict that will last for years. The lives of heroes and villains from both sides will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1: Marvelous Things (redone)

"I have seen some marvelous things, but it is often the monstrous that really interests me.

It started some time ago when I first encountered one of their kind. It was impressive to say the least. Though I knew of larger creatures, this was the largest I had ever seen do anything beside occupy a legend. I watched it match our strongest champion blow for blow, and cast its shadow over the Eternal City.

I, Loki, Prince and future King of Asgard, set my mind to discovering where this beast had come from, how I could enthrall it to my will, and finally bring an end to the reign of Odin, and crush Thor.

The things I discovered on my adventure would, well… they changed the world. All for the better I think, peace and quiet can be so wearisome. Especially for the master of trickery and deception."

 **2200 HOURS**

 **COAST OF TOKAI, JAPAN**

Blackout. The entire city of Tokai was deathly quite, and not a single light betrayed the stillness of the night. Even the city's nuclear power plant hummed along as quietly as it possibly could. The moonlight bathed the district in an ethereal glow, the haunting tranquility providing an ominous atmosphere for the pilots.

"Check 3, confirm evacuation?" The voice over the communication system asked, running through the Battle-Ready checklist.

"Evacuation confirmed Inu 1, city is clear, free to proceed."

Japan Self-Defense Force Major Sho Kuroki, stood with his arms crossed inside the headquarters bunker in Tokyo, his eyes scanning the live feed of the city for the slightest sign of movement. Now was the time to put his plan to the test.

"Good copy Alpha." The same pilot responded. "Inu pack closing in, ready to engage."

Between Kuroki and the wall-spanning monitor, dozens of drone pilots sat at their individual stations, eyes glued to their own display screens.

Over the city of Tokai, several Dogfighter drones banked towards the waterfront, plasma-firing chain guns folded out from compartments on the fore sides.

Their squad leader looked over the data readings on the side window of his monitor. "Inu Pack, drop and pull on my mark."

The several pilots entered a series of commands into their controls, ending the sequence by flipping a red cover, revealing a flip switch.

The bellies of the fighters opened, exposing a missile, waiting to be dropped into the water below.

"Inu Pack, DROP!"

In perfect unison, the several fighters released their payloads over the water, and pulled up and away. The missiles sliced smoothly into the water, making no more a disturbance than a small splashing sound as they went under.

Kuroki held his breath.

A moment later, several huge explosions thundered underwater, causing the surface to roil and foam.

The streams of data filtered up the monitor of another pilot, the reflecting off his interactive glasses in the darkness of the room. "Hits confirmed but ineffective Alpha, target is still moving forward."

Kuroki nodded, his prediction coming true. "He'll surface now… Circle around and be ready to come in hot."

"YES SIR!" His crew called out in unison.

Putting a finger to his ear, Kuroki switched his microphone transmitter to the other unit. "Maser groups move into position, and turn on the juice. He knows we're here."

The other drone operators answered in the affirmative, and began their own work.

On the streets of Tokai, several groups of MBT-92 Maser tanks rolled into a defensive position. A satellite feed showing them a thermal image of where the target was aiming to come ashore. The latest upgrade to the JXSDF's favorite anti-monster vehicle, it could turn in place on its six spherical wheels, and run along at 85 kilometers an hour. With the removal of the crew cabin, the increased battery capacity gave it the most potent beam of any JXSDF weapon not attached to the Mechas.

Blue light danced along the length of the necks of the Masers, the power coils being warmed-up. Kuroki remembered how he had to plead and beg the defense council to get the funds to build his drone fighting force. He knew how much was riding on their performance tonight. He grit his teeth, because this would be trial by fire.

"Group 1 in position!" The first group signaled.

"Group 2 in position!" Said another right after.

"Group 3 in position!" Announced the final unit.

The Masers formed a classic "horns of the bull" formation, using the buildings as added cover. Then they waited. Fingers were poised and eyes dared not blink as the seconds felt like minutes. Kuroki gripped a railing in front of him, growing more anxious by the heartbeat for the enemy to finally show himself.

The Inu captain's eyes flinched with the sudden change in signal. "Target Surfacing!"

With that pronouncement, several audible gulps could be heard in the room.

In Tokai harbor, the water steamed and boiled, underneath, a source of fantastic heat rising to the surface.

Kuroki steeled his gaze at the main monitor, playing out the phantom chess game in his head. "Don't let-up on him for a moment."

A series of irregular, jagged spines broke the surface riding atop a charcoal grey body. The water driven before the massive form rocked the boats moored in their docks and waves crashed onto the land. Finally a head began to rise from the water, its face half-concealed in the night shadows. Shoulders as huge as city blocks followed upwards, tons of seawater running off its body. Claw like hands possessing indescribable power flexed and wavered as gently as feather in the wind. A thick ropy tail strong enough to topple sky-scrapers lifted out of the water in a wave motion, and splashed back down.

Godzilla, despite his size, was a master of stealth and stood perfectly silent in the shallow waters. He knew the humans were about to attack him, he saw the flying machines and he felt the energy flowing through the ones within the city. He emitted a low grumble, scanning the darkened streets for signs of a challenge. Finding no movement other than the circling jets, Godzilla decided to pursue what he had come for. The Tokai power plant.

Godzilla lifted one foot, and stepped forward.

Kuroki could hold himself back no longer. "FIRE!"

The Dogfighter jets released another salvo of missiles, aimed directly for Godzilla's left shoulder, then opened-up with fire from the plasma chain-guns. Kuroki hoped that enough fire power concentrated on a targeted area would be enough to make Godzilla retreat. The Inu squadron only had so much it could throw, it would be up to the Masers to complete the plan.

The specially designed Full-Metal missiles sunk into Godzilla's arm, blowing away chunks of armored skin. Godzilla roared in response to the pain, the sting of the plasma shots burning in the wound. Undaunted, he pressed forward, taking a step onto the land.

Kuroki paced back and forth, imagining his defensive strategy going into action. This would not be another debacle like the Super-X2.

"Maser units prepare to fire, stick to the battle plan."

"Yes sir!"

The Dogfighters banked away, Godzilla reaching out to swipe at them with no success. Godzilla bristled at the planes, but moved on. He stepped into the city streets, knowing that another attack was imminent.

"Unit 2, FIRE!" Kuroki ordered.

The dozen Maser tanks to Godzilla's left sparked to life and fired, the blue bolts of man-made lightning cutting into the leviathan's shoulder. A shriek of pain filled the air and snarled lips exposed teeth capable of biting a ship in two. As suddenly as they started, the Masers stopped firing and retreated to cover.

Calling the shots for the play of his own design, the Major licked his lips before continuing to execute his meticulously crafted strategy. "Unit 3, FIRE!"

Another barrage of lightning battered Godzilla in the back, forcing him to turn. An angry roar shattered windows, glass raining down on the asphalt.

Kuroki grit his teeth, it was about now that he'd like to order a full scale artillery strike, but a hundred cannons lobbing indirect fire blocks away from a nuclear power plant was not authorized. If his drone-based strategy failed, he might not get this opportunity again.

Godzilla's hand removed the top third of a building that the Masers were using for cover. Behind him, his tail swung back and forth, slashing into the sides of other structures. Kuroki found himself distracted by the movement for a second. "Unit 1, FIRE!"

The Maser group in the center of the formation opened fire directly into Godzilla's exposed left flank. The experienced drone gunners landed their bolts perfectly into the targeted shoulder. Godzilla winced, the human's attack finally starting to get to him. Another roar and a step forward sent the Maser group rolling backwards.

A female pilot watched as a thermal image of the monster began to spike. "Sir, his body temp is rising! He's getting ready to use the beam!"

"DAG Units, you are clear to roll in, open fire and keep him cool."

From behind the Maser tanks, their cold siblings rolled into position. Armed with beams that hit their target with ultra-low beams of almost -300° Fahrenheit, the DAG-MB96 was a formidable weapon against Kaiju.

Blue fire licked Godzilla's lips, he felt the pressure growing along his throat. Then an intensely cold sensation struck him. The DAG units, a dozen strong and among the Masers began bombarding him with blasts of the frozen energy. He felt the fire in his throat dwindle as his body cooled, _the humans and their weapons._

The 2nd Maser unit now sent their bolts into the wound on Godzilla's shoulder. As fast as his cells regenerated, the combined assault of the Masers and the freeze beams was slowing him down. Godzilla realized he needed a new strategy. Enduring the cold, he whipped around and slammed his tail into a building, toppling the debris among the machines to his left. The tanks scrambled to avoid the tons of falling concrete and steel, peeling backwards.

"Unit 1, cover fire!" Kuroki bellowed, striding to his right for a better angle on the screen.

Bolts of ice and electricity lanced into his hide as Godzilla stepped behind a series of buildings beside the third Maser group, who wheeled in place to track his movements.

"Units 1 and 3, pursue and assault! Inu fighters push him out of those streets!"

Godzilla drove his battered shoulder into a building, pushing it over into a few others. This caused the 3rd unit to pull back and avoid damage. Several struck storefronts and crashed their tail-ends in the hurry to save themselves. Another swing of his arm sent thousands of tons of rubble raining among the tanks.

In the command center, the drone operators were starting to panic. Hundreds of hours of training was being tested as they tried to reposition and gain a line of sight on Godzilla. The limitation of trying to do so by switching between video feeds was becoming more difficult. Sweat ran down the side of Kuroki's face. The monster was trying to counter strategize, and it was working.

The Dogfighters banked around the city block, onto a straight path with Godzilla. A third salvo of Full Metal missiles streaked forward and planted themselves into his chest. Godzilla roared as a volley of plasma fire peppered him from the front.

Checking his squad's payload count, "That's it sir! We spent our FM's!" The lead pilot warned.

"Aim for his face!" Kuroki snarled. "Drive him back into the open!"

The Dogfighters adjusted their aim, battering Godzilla's head with the bright blasts. Tucking his face away he waited until the drones passed before opening his eyes. A gleam of contempt tracing their path. His attention was returned by a Maser bolt striking him, a few of the tanks had found a vantage point to hit him.

If they wanted him they would get him. Godzilla charged the couple Masers taking shots at him, crashing through the buildings between them.

"PULL BACK! PULL BACK!" The operators cried out.

The Masers sped backwards, narrowly missing being crushed. But the shock of Godzilla's footstep caused one tank to swerve into another. This delay was all Godzilla needed to land a kick, sending them both hurtling back, colliding into several other tanks, and disabling the arm of a DAG.

Kuroki's eyes burned in anger as he saw his plan falling apart.

Godzilla's ear twitched at the sound of the Dogfighters coming back around. He used the low hum to plot their approach. The drones were at last betrayed by their opening fire on the back of Godzilla's head. With a swift motion of his arm, the back of Godzilla's hand smashed into a building and sent rubble flying upwards, directly into the path of the Dogfighters.

Several were hit, and spiraled smoking and flaming downwards. A group of the Masers were trying to break out of the confined street, blocked from retreating by the disabled tanks. Godzilla raised his tail, and brought it down with enough force to rupture the avenue, causing several of the Maser tanks to bounce into the air and crash back down. Godzilla moved around to the right of the decimated Maser group, deeper into the city.

Slamming his hands on the railing, Kuroki bared his teeth. "He's escaping the sector! Unit 1 CUT HIM OFF!"

By now Godzilla felt the effects of the DAG beams wearing off, the nuclear furnace in his belly returning to its natural state.

The middle unit of the Masers and DAGs were attempting to navigate around the mounds of rubble and pursue the monster.

On the wall monitor in the command center, a high-flying drone watched Godzilla from above, the game of hunter and hunted being played out in the bird's eye view. Kuroki watched Godzilla stop, turning his face towards the closing unit of tank drones. He tilted his head, wondering what kind of primeval battle plan could be forming in the creature's mind. The Major's eyes opened in shock when he saw Godzilla wrap his arms around the belly of a building, and rip it away from the lower half. With about as much effort as it would take Kuroki to toss an empty box, Godzilla hurled the portion of the structure directly into the middle of the Maser unit.

Several drone operators exclaimed in shock, a dozen and more tanks destroyed in a single moment.

Kuroki's jaw hung in place, unable to speak after seeing such an event. A Lieutenant approached his side, holding a cell phone in her hand. "Sir? Major Yashiro is on the phone for you."

Kuroki looked to his aide, taking the phone in his hand slowly. "Yes Major?"

"Major Kuroki, this is a courtesy call. The defense council is not satisfied with your drone program, they just gave me authorization to bring in the big gun."

" _No no no! not yet! There was still a chance!"_ Kuroki thought, the fear of failure now a reality. "Just give me a little more time! I can push him back!"

"I'm sorry Sho." The Major's firm tone apologized. "But the call has been made. Your drones simply aren't able to keep up with a living target like Godzilla."

Kuroki removed his officer's cap, putting a palm to his forehead. "How long do I have?"

"Godzilla is already too close to the plant, our boy is already en route to the site."

Kuroki looked back to the monitor, Godzilla crushing a reeling DAG under his foot. He exhaled in defeat. "Fine, my remaining units will provide support."

"Thank you for your cooperation Major Kuroki. I'm sorry your strategy didn't work out." She sounded genuine, not that he noticed too much.

The remaining Maser and DAG tanks were now the ones being hunted. Their numbers dwindling, the effectiveness of their individual beams was not enough to keep Godzilla at bay. The operators knew they were reduced to fighting a lost battle, their effort was now focused on being the last one to be destroyed.

"I bet 50 Yen that I last longer than you Goro." One operator said, elbowing the man in the station next to him.

"Shut-up."

With the human's machines on the run, Godzilla felt his interest in them wane. He stopped chasing after them, and turned away, again searching out the source of energy he came for. But as he sensed the power of the nuclear plant, he felt a new presence, something familiar was coming towards him. Descending out of the night sky, he saw the source. He growled low, watching with narrowed eyes as a truly worthy foe touched down.

its thrusters blowing aside the dust and lighter debris, Kiryu landed three hundred yards in front of Godzilla. Directly between him and the nuclear plant. Glowing yellow eyes analyzed the King of the Monsters, noting the injured shoulder, and the rising body heat.

Godzilla saw the metal figure before him, the familiar face of the one who had beaten him a few years ago. He also felt what was inside the machine, he felt the kindred spirit dwelling beneath the armor.

The White Herons detached their locking mechanisms, freeing Kiryu from their tether. JXSDF Lieutenant Azusa Kisaragi, lead Kiryu operator looked out from her cockpit window, seeing Godzilla for the first time in years. "No matter how many times we train for this, I'm still awed by him."

"Don't get distracted Lieutenant, stay focused, stay alive." Major Yashiro reminded her over the comms.

"Yes Ma'am."

Kiryu lifted its head. Godzilla flexed his hand. He was also the first to move. Godzilla strode forward, intent on dealing with his metal twin as fast as possible by tearing it apart. The missile battery resting atop Kiryu's shoulders opened its panels. Godzilla saw the activity and readied for the assault. But it was the Hyper-Maser from its maw that struck first. Caught off guard, Godzilla wailed in pain, doubling over to fight-off the paralyzing effects. While its opponent was immobilized, Kiryu's missiles were launched in volleys from the auxiliary weapons pack.

The High Explosive Rockets rained down on the atomic titan. hitting in groups they sent Godzilla reeling. The sorrowful cry coming out of the cloud of fire and smoke told that the assault was working. Kiryu raised its arms, the gauntlets attached to its forearms carried twin plasma cannons. The cannons came to life with an unrelenting barrage of purple blasts that hammered Godzilla's skin.

Now was the time to close the distance and finish the fight. A long double-sided dagger extended from Kiryu's right gauntlet as it approached the stunned monster. Kiryu drove the blade into the exposed wound on Godzilla's shoulder, driving a sharp cry of agony from the monster. Yellow maser energy crackled along the length of the dagger and stung the injury. Comprised of a domestic version of the Space Titanium metal, the dagger had little trouble carving into Kaiju flesh.

Reacting out of desperation, blue energy flared and popped along Godzilla's dorsal plates, blue fire fuming out from between his fangs.

"Oh no you don't!" Azusa barked.

Kiryu delivered an uppercut to Godzilla's jaw with its other hand, and clamped its metal claws over the mouth. The radioactive energy shot out from various spots along Godzilla's mouth, unable to be released at once. Kiryu forced Godzilla back step by step, a half-machine-half-monster roar filling the air.

Godzilla bit through the pain and planted his tail, using it to stop the momentum. Yet more HE rockets shot out from the battery pack, the missiles curved downwards streaking with fury. Godzilla caught the motion of the rockets, and shifted his body. The rockets came down and Godzilla moved Kiryu's arm into their path. The arm Kiryu used to hold Godzilla's jaws shut was hammered by rockets, destroying the gauntlet, and breaking the hold.

Dorsal plates glowed and fire danced in Godzilla's mouth, but a thruster powered dropkick to the chest sent the titan reeling. Kiryu opened his chest panels, and exposed the Triple Hyper-Maser. The three points of power combined into one massive bolt and struck Godzilla in the chest. Nearly brought to his knees by the pain, Godzilla put his energy into one big push.

A tremendous roar preceded torrent of blue flame that met the Maser beam head-on. The two forces raged against each other, neither side buckling, both trying to overcome the other in waves.

Azusa understood what was coming, and banked her craft away. "Kiryu squadron! EVAC the area NOW!"

The point of conflict warped and pulsed, the unstable tension rising. Finally it gave out, the mass of energy expended outwards, flattening the weakened buildings, bowling over the Maser tanks, and knocking both Kiryu and Godzilla off their feet.

The White Herons barely outran the blast, their back ends were thrown-up by the force and they lost control. Azusa's copilot braced himself inside the cockpit.

"Hold on!" She yelled to him.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" He cried from the back seat.

Azusa's craft hit a rooftop and skidded to a lop-sided halt, sparks flying from the control panel. She slammed a fist on the button that ejected the cockpit cover, and they both climbed out. Taking off their helmets, they looked around at the wreckage of the damaged city.

Kiryu tried to stand, various parts of its body damaged by the blast, and its circuitry fried. A few blocks away, the rubble began to stir. Godzilla rose from the ground, dust and debris falling off his back. He staggered for a moment growling wearily, but the mechanical sounds of distress brought him back to focus. He grimaced, his face tightening and eyes gleaming with savage intent.

Kiryu was almost to its feet when a tail slammed across its side, knocking the Mech back down. Godzilla snarled as he grabbed Kiryu's tail with both hands and yanked on it. A weak roar was all it could manage as it was dragged along the street.

Adjusting his grip, Godzilla slung Kiryu's tail over his shoulder and with a single motion, lifted the machine into the air. Slamming Kiryu down with a thunderous impact, Godzilla waited for his opponent to react. But as Kiryu made no movement, Godzilla approached. With one hand Godzilla tore away the missile battery attached to Kiryu's back, and wrapped an arm around the machine's neck.

Godzilla lifted his foe from the ground, the thousands of tons of dead weight resting against his body. In a sudden flash of attack Kiryu opened its maw and blasted Godzilla in the face with a Maser bolt. Godzilla shrieked and recoiled, letting Kiryu fall back down onto its hands and knees. Kiryu turned its face around, defiantly trying to meet the gaze of the victor.

The city, drenched in the orange glow of the many fires burning came to a sudden stillness, a frightening quiet. Godzilla snapped his head back towards Kiryu, his back alight with the blue glow, and the atomic fire flickering between his teeth. One shot is all it would take, Godzilla's mind primitively thought, watching as Kiryu struggled to mount some kind of defense.

A trio of ULT beams hit Godzilla in the back, startling the beast. The last of the DAG units poured everything they had into one final charge. But it was not enough. Godzilla turned and the atomic fire spilled forth and demolished not just the DAG tanks, but also the three city blocks around them.

The atomic fire was quenched, and the cityscape smoldered. Flames raged anew and the stars were blotted-out by the billowing smoke, News reports would later liken the imagery to the first attacks in '54 and '55.

Turning back to Kiryu, Godzilla noticing that his metal foe was no longer moving, decided against expending the energy to destroy it. Besides, he was still mystified by the presence he felt from inside the thing. For now, another quest called to him.

Stepping unopposed through the streets of Tokai, Godzilla felt his shoulder healing, growing stronger. The warmth of the fires around him were comforting, reminding him of a time and place long ago that was much different than today. At times he longed for the tranquility of those lost moments, before the confusion and pain his life had become, before the time of Man.

The Tokai power plant lay defenseless before him, its core a beacon calling out to him. Crushing the auxiliary structures beneath his feet, Godzilla went straight for the epicenter of the base. Reaching down into the smoke stack, steam and flashes of light obscured Godzilla's face as he plucked the reactor from its spot like it was a bit of fruit. He held the chamber in his hand, crushing it just enough to breach its integrity, allowing the radiation to flow out.

For several minutes Godzilla soaked in the excess energy, the sensation a soothing one, like standing under a hot shower. His mind drifting to more pleasant thoughts, he closed his eyes and breathed softly.

When the core was at last drained, he let it slip from his hand and fall tumbling into the facility, causing explosions and fires. Satisfied, it was time to return to the sea, return to his island. Godzilla turned and walked casually back to the shore, paying no mind to the wreckage of the drones that littered the city around him. A glance over to the still form of Kiryu was all the attention he paid to his mighty opponent.

The waters of the Pacific shimmered in the combined light of the moon and fires, but he had no mind to contemplate the beauty of the scenery, there was only his next goal. But suddenly there was something else.

Godzilla stopped in his tracks, his eyes scouring and his ears alert to the slightest strange noise. It was a faint spirit, almost to small for him to notice. It felt about the size of a human, but it was far more powerful, more concentrated than a being its size should be. It also felt, foreign, like it didn't belong here, out of place.

Even eyes as powerful and precise Godzilla's could not locate the source of the queer energy. Usually he did not like to leave such strangeness alone, but despite the feeling, he decided that the humans should be the ones to deal with it.

The water around his legs churned and steamed as he re-entered the bay, the familiar feeling of the ocean against his skin. In moments his body sunk into the deeper waters, even his massive form swallowed-up by the waves.

Back in the city where the fires burned and the smoke blackened, a lone figure emerged gazing out over the hellish vista.

"Oh my… And to think Asgard was spared this fate by the slimmest of margins." Loki braced himself against the low wall of a building's rooftop, glancing over the edge at the remains of the mortal's weaponry. "And this world seems to be no stranger to his like, judging by the arms brought against him. I wonder… what other kind of colossal monsters might be employed in my army?"

"There are… many…"

Now was Loki's turn to be startled and search about for a mysterious entity. Not finding any sign of the raspy voices, Loki steeled his courage.

"I am Loki, Prince of Asgard! And I demand you show yourself!"

"A prince?"

"He demands to us…"

"From Asgard…"

"Fine!" Loki challenged. "Since you wish to keep yourselves hidden, I'll just have to turn on the light!"

Loki spiked the bottom of his spear into the rooftop, and from the tip a brilliant light pulsed. The white radiance washed over the area and revealed Loki's strange company.

When the light struck a flame beside a shadowed area beside a rooftop entry door, two figures were made visible. One body was formed of the fire, the other from the shade. Both specters however were possessed of glowing red eyes that shimmered in place. Loki was taken aback, not unfamiliar with wraith-like beings, this pair nonetheless unnerved him.

"Who in the nine realms are you?" He asked the pair.

They spoke in brief statements, one interrupting the other.

"An odd question he should ask…"

"Not from this world he seems…"

"Yesss… a stranger…"

Loki leveled his spear point at the two, its power point increasing in size.

"He wields a magic strange to us…"

"But his heart is corrupted…"

"There isss no better kind…"

Nervous in the company of the coy spirits, Loki grew restless. "Enough! What do you want?"

"We are the nameless shadows."

"We watch from the darkness."

"We are ageless and transcendent."

"Weeeee… can help you."

Loki narrowed his eyes, still untrusting of the two. "How can you help me?"

"We sense a desire for power."

"A desire to rule."

Stiffening his lip, Loki's demeanor changed to indignant. "I am the rightful heir to the throne of Asgard, but it is occupied by an old man, and promised to a oaf."

"They stand in your way."

"They rob you of your claim."

"If they are immortal as you are…"

"They can still be killed."

Loki lowered his weapon slightly, regarding the two now with more curiosity than fear. "Why would you offer to help me?"

"Because you can help us."

"We can work… together."

"I want Asgard." Loki said his confusion growing. "What are you after?"

"We have lived for longer than most stars."

"We are trapped here."

"Give us the means to escape this prison."

"And all you desire…"

"Shall be yours."

"All I desire huh?" Loki let his spear drop, the gears in his mind turning.

"How about him?" Pointing his spear towards the water where Godzilla had disappeared. "He can help me overthrow Odin and put me on the throne."

The floating eyes stared at him for a moment.

"Is that all?"

"Are there no more enemies to crush?

"Is one all you need?"

Loki pursed his lips, considering the full spectrum of what he wanted. "Well, Thor would undoubtedly find me and attempt to pummel me into submission again. He even might bring his little gang of super heroes to help him."

"We have an idea."

"It will take time."

"But as a gesture of… goodwill-"

"We offer you the first step in your rise to glory."

Hands of shadow and smoke emerged from one of the specters, seeming to hold an invisible ball between them. They flexed and manipulated the ethereal vapor around them, condensing it into a form. From the mist a vial was created, jagged and dagger-like, the clear glass contained a dark green liquid.

"Slip this to the one who sits on your throne."

"It is lethal to all."

"Even to the immortals of your kind."

"Once he is gone-"

"The endeavor can move forward."

Loki took the sinister vial, making it disappear into an unseen pocket. "So I poison Odin, then what happens?"

"Patience is what will win you your throne,"

"Bide your time."

"Let your enemies think they are safe,"

"Then when they are asleep…"

"Slip the blade into their heart."

"Complete your task…"

"Then watch for the arrival of the leviathan you covet."

"He will herald the others."

"Godzilla will bring the end."

The two dark forms twinkled into the shadows and faded. Their baleful eyes the last to go.

Loki stayed still, lolling his tongue and mulling his thoughts. "Well… Godzilla, don't make me wait too long."


	2. Chapter 2: The Call (redone)

**14 MONTHS, 5 DAYS LATER**

 **NEW YORK CITY**

 **BAXTER BUILDING**

The sunlight shined though the window into the messy yet sterile lab of Reed Richards. Through the wall-spanning window, the endless blue of the cloudless firmament met the skyline of the city that never sleeps. A constant repeating "boop"-ing noise could be heard, loud enough to fill the lab, but not irritating. The sound was coming from a large cylindrical device, which occupied the center of the room.

Surrounded by wild cables and braced inside a larger system of mechanisms and controls, the device was topped by a fixed satellite dish. A monitor screen on the side of the machine switched between a multi-layered reading of wave oscillations.

As crashing, clanging sound from another room broke the peace, the echo hanging in the air. Mr. Fantastic stuck his head into the open, a mixture of curiosity and expectation on his face.

"JOHNNNY!" Bellowed the heavy voice.

"There it is."

The confirmation of his suspicions by the furious cry of his best friend Ben Grimm. Reed smiled, another of his brother-in-law's pranks had sprung in his seemingly un-ending quest to drive Ben crazy. Shaking his head, Reed went back under the table he was working on.

The door to the lab slide sideways, revealing a blonde woman. Susan Richards carried a plated sandwich as she strode in.

"Reed honey, I made you some lunch."

Still under the table, Reed spoke as he continued to work. "Oh thank you sweetheart, just put it on the table."

She put the plate down, trying to find a space where she could look down at her husbands face. "What are you working on?"

"Well, I saw a frayed wire down here, but when I went to fix it, I noticed a previous project had rolled underneath here. So I got to playing with it and… you know what? I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with it."

A hand reached out from under the table, the long arm stretching in a cartoon-like manner upwards. Reed's hand patted the surface of the table, inches away from the sandwich. The fingers extended and spread outwards, searching and feeling like a starfish. Susan rolled her eyes and pushed the plate closer. Reed's fingers touched the sandwich, and after recoiling, wrapped themselves around it, and pulled it under.

"Mmm, turkey."

Reed's head, riding atop a neck that just grew like a vine, snuck back out to face his wife. "Thank you."

Reed and Susan shared a kiss, her arms grasping the length of his neck like a snake.

Suddenly, the soft blooping became a series of sharp chirps. Reed's eyes popped open, the top half of his face turning away to look at the source of the sound, the bottom half staying in the kiss. After a moment, she pulled away, a smile still on her face, but her eyes still closed.

"Reed, what's that sound?" Finally she opened her eyes, softly at first, but then open in a flash, her mouth agape at the grotesque contortion of her husbands head.

"Look at this!" He exclaimed

The sight of half a human face talking to her made Susan cringe. "Is it… something good?"

Reed's body pulled itself together, and left him standing in front of the display panel on the chirping device. "Remember I told you I built this machine to detect signals from alternate realities?"

Susan approached from behind him, leaning her arms on his shoulders. She looked over the streams of data processing across the screen, but as brilliant a scientist as she was, this was above her.

"I remember you talking about how signals from other universes might be picked-up like radio signals from a distant planet."

"Precisely. I… I didn't mention the device? Hmm, I thought I did. Anyways, this machine is designed to do just that!"

Susan's eyes widened in surprise. "And this annoying chirp means you've found one?"

Reed turned his face to her, and smiled. Whipping back to the screen, Reed went to work entering commands and making adjustments. "If I designed this correctly, and I did, I should be able to send a signal back, perhaps even establish communication."

"What kind of signals are you getting from them?"

"Well…" Reed connected a cable from the side of the display monitor to a larger screen. "If it really is from an alternate reality, and not just pocket dimension like the Negative Zone, then it seems to be a broadcast signal of some kind."

"I wonder what kind of daytime soaps they watch?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Give me a second to sort out the interference." After entering a few more commands, he adjusted the angle of the screen for them to see it clearly.

"Just a little bit…"

He placed his fingers on the screen and twisted a dial, letting his fingers coil around each other to make the fine-tuning. The psychedelic static on the screen gave way to patterns, then shapes, until a familiar image sharpened itself from the lines and colors. The picture transformed into a petite but attractive Asian woman sitting behind a desk.

" _Toshi ijo mae ni, Gojira_..."

"It's a Japanese broadcast!" Reed's head reeled back, his neck extending away from the shoulders. He gazed at the screen with a mixture of shock and excitement.

" _Tokai no fukko e no torikumi_ …" The anchor woman continued.

Sue furrowed her brow. "What's she saying?"

"Ah..." Shaking his head back into the moment, Reed concentrated on the translation. "Something about reconstructing the city of Tokai, something terrible must have happened there, involving something called 'Go-jira?'."

"Go-what?"

" _Kiryuu no zettaireido no taiho no shufuku_ …"

"Now there's something called 'Kiryu' and the restoration of an 'Absolute Zero canon'." He murmured.

"What is going on over there?" Sue asked aloud with wonderment.

The picture of the broadcast changed to what looked like archived news footage. It seemed to be taken from a helicopter at night, at first all that was showed was parts of a city that had suffered massive destruction, like a war had been waged there.

"Oh my god…" Her question answered, she put a hand across her mouth in horror.

The camera panned, and now huge shadows swept across the broken cityscape. Suddenly, there they were. Susan and Reed gasped at the sight of an enormous creature combating a mechanical doppelganger of itself. The scene jumped to show the living creature looming over a power facility, torrents of steam shooting-up around it. The camera zoomed into to show the monster holding something in it's hand.

"That…" Reed started, staring closer at the picture. "That's the core of a nuclear reactor. He's holding it in his hand!"

" _Tokai kojo, Gojira kara dengen o haishutsu_ "

Reed pointed to the monster on the screen, "I think that creature, is Gojira."

Sue watched on in awful fascination. "It looks like he's absorbing the radiation."

Equally entranced by the scientific implications, Reed devoured the image before him. "That's an incredible amount of radioactive output to take in."

"I didn't think you guys were into monster movies."

Husband and wife turned to see Johnny Storm standing behind them, arms at his side. He tilted his head, examining the video feed curiously. "I don't think I've seen this one."

 **LATER THAT NIGHT**

 **MANCHESTER, CONNECTICUT**

 **X-MANSION**

"Ya da da, yah ta-ta tah…"

Dr. Henry McCoy, Beast, stood in his lab, dressed in a white coat and light brown slacks. He held a clipboard, where he flipped through several pages. He then leaned forward, examining the contents of a terrarium, where a single rose grew, it's bud closed with the tips of a few red lips kissing the air.

Beast pursed his own lips, a furrow of consternation creasing his face.

"I just don't understand what's keeping you closed my dear."

"Maybe I'd stay closed too if I were trapped in a fish tank."

Beast heard the voice coming from above him, and craning his neck saw Nightcrawler clutching one of the high beams, waving down to him.

"Kurt, what brings you down here? Did you leave a Gamestation disk around somewhere?"

Nightcrawler chuckled, his body disappearing in a puff of purple smoke. He reappeared perched on Beast's shoulders, a three fingered hand tussling his hair.

"What? I can't hang-out with my big blue brother?"

Another set of puffs, and Nightcrawler was lounging on the armchair in the corner.

"Well I appreciate the thought Kurt" Beast said, checking a few more notes among his papers; "But I'm just about finished for the night."

"So what's with the flower anyway?" Nightcrawler asked, pointing to the plant with the tip of his tail. "Not enough sunlight?"

Beast removed his glasses, messaging the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what it is. I've genetically altered the rose so that the chlorophyll would absorb sunlight much more efficiently. It appears to be doing so, all the petals are fully grown, but it just won't bloom."

Nightcrawler smiled. "Don't worry about it too much Doc, it'll bloom when it's ready. Just like some of us here."

Beast turned and gave Nightcrawler a thoughtful look. "That's quite an insight Kurt, have you been reading some of my philosophy books?"

"I looked at some of the names and searched them on youtube."

Beast felt his face drop, feeling simultaneously chagrined at his students preference for streaming video over books, and the sudden reminder of his age.

"Well I suppose you're trying at least…"

Dr. McCoy placed his clipboard on the table, and had his lab coat midway off when his computer began to chime.

Nightcrawler shifted position to point like a hunting dog to the computer. "Oooh! I think your cookies are done! Get it? An internet pun!"

Beast stifled a small chortle, " _that was pretty cleaver of him_ " he thought. "Nothing so tasty I'm afraid, just a contact alert."

Beast clicked on the alert message and was greeted by a new window featuring the face of Reed Richards. Beast's eyebrows betrayed his surprise.

"Professor Richards hello, this is a surprise! What moves you to call at this hour?"

On the screen, Reed's face smiled at the welcome.

"Hello Dr. McCoy it's been too long since we talked. Unfortunately though, this isn't a social call."

The grim turn Reed's voice took made Beast furrow his brow. "Is there something wrong?"

Behind Beast, Nightcrawler tried to look over his shoulder. "What is it? Hydra? Magneto? The Yankees?"

Beast turned to face his student, "Sorry Kurt, but could you give us some time to talk here?"

Nightcrawler exhaled audibly, dropping his shoulders. "Alright Doc, I'll see you at breakfast, _Gute Nacht_."

Beast watched Kurt vanish in smoke, and went back to his call. "Sorry about that, he's curious."

"An admirable trait Henry" Reed commended. "And one that led me to discover something today. Something I think you need to see for yourself. Do you think you can come to New York in the morning?"

Beast hesitated to answer immediately, while the short notice was kind of an inconvenience, the mystery behind his colleagues worry was too tantalizing to resist. He gave a sidelong glance to his stubborn rose. _Ah, why not?_

"I'll be there. Is there anything I need to bring?"

"I don't think so. But after we discuss the issue with the others, we'll have a better idea of what to do."

"The others?"

 **UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI**

A Frisbee, splotched with glowing liquid hummed through the warm humid night air. It was caught by a young man, who swiftly threw it away.

" _I used to love playing Frisbee…"_

From the window of his laboratory, Dr. Curt Connors watched the pair of students toss the disk back and forth.

" _An ingenious idea, splattering the Frisbee with the liquid from a chem-stick. I wish I would have thought of that when I was their age."_

Connors' eyes went to the floor, remembering more enjoyable times. Times that were lost to him after his stint in Africa. Though his life had not ended there, his years of work afterwards proved that he could still make a difference in the world. As one of the eminent herpetologists in the western world, he put his expertise to use in the fields of genetics and bio-medical sciences.

The occasional itch on the stump of what used to be his right elbow however, reminded him of his humble state. He scratched at the spot where the sleeve of the lab coat was folded over the end of his humerus.

"Hmm, maybe I should take-up the yo-yo."

The cell phone in his pocket began to ring. Checking the screen, he smiled, seeing that his wife Martha was on the line, and answered.

"Hello sweetheart."

"Hey honey." She greeting in her sweet voice. "I was just wondering when you were coming home, it's getting late."

Connor s leaned down, examining the small group of green lizards that were kept in a tank. One eyed him casually before scampering underneath a log.

"I'm sorry, I guess I just lost track of the time. I'm on my way out of the lab now."

"Oh good, that means-" Her voice was interrupted by the sound of the flash signal, another caller was on the line.

"Honey I'm getting another call, I'll see you when I get home."

"alright Curt."

He looked at his phone, seeing a caller id that struck him with disbelief. He switched to the new line.

"Hello? Professor Richards?"

"Dr. Connors! Hello!" Reed sounded excited to talk to the relatively normal scientist. "I apologize for calling so late, I hope it's not a bad time."

Curt was stunned, true while he had gained some notoriety for himself, Reed was known as one of the greatest scientific minds alive, his discovery of the Negative Zone put the world on it's head.

"No, no, I uh, I was just leaving work."

"Excellent! Listen, I've made an incredible discovery today, but I've decided that I need to get some more eyes on this thing. I was calling to ask you if you could come to New York for a little gathering I'm putting together."

If receiving the call stunned him, the idea that Reed Richards would be inviting him to consult absolutely floored Connors. He resisted the urge to re-check the name on the caller ID, and stammered into a response.

"I-I-I ah, sure, I'd honored to help Mr. Fantastic any way I can."

"You flatter me Dr. Connors, It's great to hear you're on board for tomorrow."

" _Tomorrow? TOMORROW?!"_ Connors realized in startling amazement. "Tomorrow? That such short notice, you are aware that I live in southern Florida right?"

The sound of laughter on the other end of the line altered Connors' expression from flabbergasted to concern. "Oh my, I'm sorry.. Yes Dr. Connors, I know where you live. That's why I've already sent my car to pick you up."

This time Curt really did re-check the caller ID. "I appreciate the thought Professor, but there's no way a car can get from New York to Florida in one day."

"Well not yet, no." The tone of Reed's voice made it sound like this was a problem he had given thought to. "But in any case I didn't send you a "car" car, I sent down my flying car, It's programmed to pick you up at your residence at 7am, and arrive at the Baxter Building by 9am."

Flying cars? A once-in-a-lifetime scientific with Reed Richards and lord knows who else? Curt Connors could only stand dumbstruck by it all.

"I'll uh, I'll be ready."

"Thank you Dr. Connors! See you tomorrow!"

Before Connors could respond, he heard the click and dial tone.

"Good night…"

 **?**

"Sir, there's a call coming through."

"What? Now? Who is it?"

"It appears to be Reed Richards sir."

"Reed? hmm, fine JARVIS, patch him through."

JARVIS: "Yes Mr. Stark."

A momentary beeping sound gave way to a familiar voice.

"Hello Tony. I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time?"

"Actually Reed." Tony grunted "You kinda are…"

 **BOTTOM OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN**

 **200~ MILES OFF THE AMERICAN EAST COAST**

Deep below the wind-whipped waves, Iron Man stood braced between the ocean floor, and the hull of a submarine. His arms struggling to keep the craft from sinking further.

"You remember hearing about that missing nuclear submarine?"

"Yeah?"

"Well… [ _humph_ ]" Iron Man adjusted himself to get a better angle of leverage. "I found it, and I'm trying to get it back up and running."

"Oh, I see. Well I'll call back later then-"

"No, Reed, what's up?"

"I was just calling because I was having a brain-trust tomorrow morning, and was wondering if you were available?" Tony Stark was notoriously impulsive, so inviting him was at best a gamble.

"uuuuummmmm… JARVIS, What's my morning look like?"

"Well sir…" As JARVIS recited his morning schedule, Iron Man exerted himself, thrusting the sub-marine higher away from the floor, and freeing his boots from the muck, kicked the repulsors on.

"At roughly 8am, I'll have your breakfast prepared, 8:30 begins your daily briefings…"

Two back thrusters joined the effort to lift the sub closer to a level plane.

"Then at 9:15..."

Once the ship was leveled out the propeller managed to whir to life slowly, loud chucking sounds told Tony Stark that the engines were working again. Cautiously, he let his grip on the hull go, allowing the ship to travel under it's own power.

"Than after 10 am we… Well, it appears you have a few open hours."

Iron Man finally took a sigh of relief. "Not that I'm not interested Reed, but I usually like to spend my free morning hours tinkering in the garage."

"I know the life of an Avenger is busy" Reed nearly stuttered. "But I really think you're gonna wanna be here for this."

"Tell you want Reed, what time is the meeting?"

"I'm thinking 10."

Iron Man observed the sub make it way into the distance, disappearing in the murk. Satisfied, all four repulsors from his palms and feet thrust him upwards.

"I'll try to make it, no promises, but If I can't just go on without me. Send me an email with the abridged version."

Bursting through the surface of the water into the thunderstorm that ravaged the area, Iron Man turned towards home.

"Well I hope to see you there." Reed said. "And there was one more thing I wanted to ask you."

"What's that?" Stark asked, dodging a vein of lightning that flashed at his side,

"I was wondering if Dr. Banner could attend as well?"

"Oooouuu…" Stark made a hesitant sound by sucking his teeth. "I'm not the guy to talk to about Bruce."

"I see.." A dejected Reed spoke.

"JARVIS, patch the professor through to the mansion."

"Yes Sir."

 **AVENGERS MANSION**

On a small unassuming wooden table, a phone rang. A man picked it up with his right hand, in his left the held a DVD case.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" Richards began. "Am I speaking to Captain Rogers?"

"Yes you are, may I ask who's calling?"

With the phone held to his ear, Cap looked over the movie he held. Dressed in his casual clothes, he was prepared for a night in.

"It's uh, Reed Richards here."

"Oh, Mr. Fantastic, a pleasant surprise, I was just about to watch a movie, a comedy, In The Army Now." Rogers looked over the DV cover again, seeing the man with a pair of tanks behind him and a belt of ammunition across his torso.

"Can't say I watch many movies captain." Reed admitted.

Cap smirked, knowing the feeling. "Please, just Steve. What was it you called about?" Rogers bent down to open the tray of the DVD player.

"I wanted to know if Dr. Banner could come to the Baxter Building tomorrow morning?"

Captain Rogers froze in his tracks. "Mr. Richards are you aware that Dr. Banners' movements are tightly controlled?"

Reed tried to reassure him. "I understand that he comes with certain, precautions, but I assure you, the Baxter Building is equipped to-"

Cap cut him off, "Mr. Reed, I'll talk to Bruce, and if he think's it's a good idea, then we'll work something out."

"I understand Steve, I hope that he's able to attend. Have a goodnight."

"Goodnight professor Richards."

Cap hung-up the phone, grimacing with the thought of having to escort Banner into the heart of Manhattan. He shook his head, deciding to deal with the issue after his movie. He looked down at the DVD cover and for some reason fixated on the name of the star.

"Why do I suddenly feel nauseated?"

 **NEW YORK CITY**

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

The Big Apple was as busy on this spring day as any other. In a city so accustomed to the effects of having heroes and villains use the streets as their battleground, it came as no surprise when the façade of the largest bank in lower Manhattan crumbled to the ground.

Shocker held his fists in the air, his mask hiding the pleasure he got from throwing his power around. "Time to go boys!"

He stood in the bed of a pick-up truck, sacks of cash piled around his feet. The getaway driver punched the accelerator and the man riding shotgun poised his assault rifle out the window.

"Hang tight boss!"

Shocker turned sharply, "Just get us out of here!"

As the car peeled out and turned a corner, Shocker sent a devastating wave over the heads of onlookers who shrieked and dove for cover. A medium sized statuette of an angel was dislodged from an overhang, and plummeted towards a cowering woman. She peeked her head up, and caught sight of the concrete figure moments away from crushing her.

At the last second however, the statue was pulled back and flung away. Her eyes went wide when she saw Spider-Man swinging past her, in pursuit of the villain.

"HEADS-UP! FALLING ANGEL!"

High above the streets, the Fantasticar glided smoothly through the warm breeze. Dr. Curt Connors clutched his leather hand-bag to his chest as he looked down at the city below.

When the vehicle had arrived at his home earlier, he had marveled at the futuristic device. Now he just wished to reach his destination. He now understood better why his wife had refused to come with him, after stating flatly "There's no way I'm flying to New York in that bumper-car!"

Not that he was all that excited to make the trip himself, the opportunity to work with Mr. Fantastic was too great to pass-up.

He heard an explosion from the streets below, startled at first moved to the other side of his seat to find out what had happened. His mouth gaped when he saw the costumed villain level a store-front with some kind of invisible shockwave. And after adjusting his glasses, he saw Spider-Man leap from one building to another to dodge the destructive path.

Two police cars in the wake of the fleeing truck were thrown aside by the blast. As the Fantasticar continued forward, he turned in his seat to keep watching, even after his view was obstructed.

Not far from Dr. Connors' flight path, but much higher, the X-Men's Blackbird cut through the air. Inside was not only Beast at the helm, but Cyclops, Kitty Pryde, and Professor Charles Xavier.

"I forget sometimes how nice it is to get out and see the world." Xavier remarked, enjoying the smooth ride on a peaceful day.

Kitty sat facing the outside, her face plastered to the window. "I know what you mean professor, the grounds of the mansion can feel so small sometimes. I've never been to New York city before!"

Cyclops couldn't help but roll his eyes behind his visor. "Come'on, the mansion's not so bad Kitty."

"I know Scott, but I still wanna go to college here in a few years."

Beast leaned over "There's plenty of fine schools here Katherine, If you'd like I can-"

"Whoa! Look down there!" She yelped, pointing her finger against the window.

Beast glanced back to see Kitty pointing down to the streets. He entered a few commands into his control panel, and a screen emerged from a compartment in the ceiling. The video feed came to life and showed a bird's eye view of a battle erupting across the streets.

"OHMUHGOD It's Spider-Man!" Kitty cried out, pointing to the screen

On the screen, Spider-Man was somehow standing at a 90° angle on the tailgate. He ducked underneath a two fisted thrust from Shocker, and casting his webbing onto the bank's sacks of money, flung them out of the truck bed. The sacks were thrown aside where the tails of web were caught on street-lights, suspending them like apples.

"Get 'em Spidey!" Kitty cheered.

Shocker, stunned and enraged by the loss of his score sent two shockwaves directly into his side of the tailgate, obliterating the rear of the truck. Spider-Man spread his arms to the side, throwing web-lines to the buildings beside him. He was held back just as the force of the shockwave hit the street and caused the truck to up-end, and Shocker was knocked off his feet.

Watching with interest, Cyclops nodded his head. "Maybe we should invite him for an afternoon in the Danger Room?"

Taking a second to glance to his left and right, Spider-Man held onto his web-lines, and walked himself backwards, until he felt a strong elastic tension. Pulling his feet, Spider-Man was launched forward.

That was the last thing the saw before they lost visual.

"AWWW! Come'on!" Kitty protested, again putting her face to the window.

"He's quite the young talent." Beast admitted. "Do you think he could be one of us?"

The Professor shrugged his shoulders. "I've tried to find him with Cerebro before, but no such luck. He may not be a mutant, but there's no doubt that he's someone special."

In the bed of the truck, Shocker groaned rubbing the part of his back that slammed against the cab.

"You alright back there boss?" The driver yelled.

With a thump, the shadow of Spider-Man fell over Shocker, standing over him in the bed. "Don't worry about him, he's got a long vacation coming-up. About ten to twenty years!"

"GET OFF!"

Shocker reached-out with both fists, Spider-Man bending his body backwards at an impossible angle to dodge the blasts. Reacting as if everything around him was in slow-motion, Spider-Man bent his body forward, and leapt into the air to dodge another set of shockwaves. Taking advantage of the opening, Spider-Man cast two web-lines that attached to Shocker's shoulders. Landing on the roof of the cab, he pulled on the lines, yanking Shocker into the air, and slammed him down onto the engine hood.

The truck came to a halt and Shocker rolled down from the hood. He got to his feet groggily, bracing against the grill of the truck. Spider-Man jumped in front of him and quickly removed his mask. Shocker tried to counter but found his arms pinned across his chest with webbing, shock-gloves on either side of his head.

"I'd keep my fingers off the trigger, that'd be one hell of a headache." Spider-Man said, wagging his finger.

Another splotch of web and Shocker was pinned bodily to the front of the truck.

Shocker tried to wrestle free. "I hate you Spider-Man!" He cursed.

Spider-Man tilted his head. "Yeah I'd hate me too if my color-scheme was as cruel to the eyes as yours is."

"Nice work kid."

Spider-Man turned, stunned to see Iron Man lowering himself down to the street before him.

"Sorry I wasn't here in time to help out, but it seems like you took care of things." Iron Man said as he landed.

Spider-Man could only stare dumbly at the world-famous Avenger. "Yeah… I uh, I webbed 'em."

"Okaaay… Oh! Let me get those for ya."

Behind Spider-Man, Shocker's accomplices were making a run for it. Two small devices launched from Iron Man's shoulders and stuck themselves to the backs of the men. A electric discharge stunned them where they stood, and they dropped unmoving to the pavement.

"You uh, you might wanna web them too before they wake-up."

[voice breaking] "Okay…" Iron Man rocketed away, leaving Spider-Man to stare. "'I webbed them'? GAH!" [smacking forehead] "Idiot!"

"What's a matter web-head?" Shocker teased. "Get star-struck?"

A small glob of webbing hit Shocker in the mouth.

"Shuddup."


	3. Chapter 3: The Gathering (redone)

**BAXTER BUILDING**

Landing on the platform just outside the sliding door, Iron Man opened his face plate and stepped inside the lab.

"I hope I'm not too late."

"Not at all!" Reed Richards greeted him. Inside, Dr. Connors was sitting at a table nursing a coffee. Cyclops, Beast and Professor Xavier were examining the various devices in the lab, and Kitty sat with Susan Richards having their own conversation over tea. Reed Richards came forward, literally stretching his arm to greet Tony.

"It's great to have you here Mr. Stark! It's been a while."

The armor opened, and Tony casually stepped out of the suit, dressed in comfortable clothes.

"When was the last time I was here? Was it when Doom tried to use the Chrysler Building to broadcast mind-control waves?"

"I think so yeah." Reed gestured an arm towards the other guests. "Tony meet Dr. Curt Connors."

Connors rose from his seat, shaking hands with Stark. "An honor to meet you Mr. Stark, er, please excuse my composure, the flight here was a little nerve-wracking."

"He made you ride in the flying bumper-car huh?" Stark guessed.

Reed was dismayed by the nickname. "Why does everyone call it that?"

"Don't worry doc." Stark put a hand on Connors' shoulder. "It wears off. I followed your thesis on modeling a primitive A.I. on the reptilian brain, impressive stuff."

Connors was genuinely taken aback. "Well thank you."

"Good to see you again Tony." Professor Xavier said as he and Beast approached.

Tony greeted them both. "letting the students run the school today?"

"No." Xavier chuckled. "Jean is in charge today, between her and Logan the students aren't liable to burn the place down."

No one else could see Cyclops wince behind his visor, the thought of Jean and Wolverine left to mind the house together left him with a primal jealousy. He trusted her, but Logan wasn't known for his self-restraint.

Stark put his hands on his hips. "It must be hard for him with so many of the kids being taller. McCoy!"

"Hello Tony." Beast returned as they shook hands.

Looking around, Tony examined the other guests. "This is a nice little club we got going here huh? And don't worry I still haven't told anyone about the time you let me pet you."

Beast recoiled slightly, his eyes darting back and forth. "I appreciate the discretion."

Kitty now joined the circle, putting on her best face.

"And is this the young Shadowcat I've been hearing about?". Stark asked.

"Yes Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Kitty reached to greet him, but her hand phased right through his. She smiled and offered a weak chuckle.

"Sorry, that happens sometimes when I'm nervous."

"That's okay. it happens to everyone on their first time."

"Hello Tony." Susan Richards stood apart from the group, her arms folded.

Tony joined his hands behind his back and refused to meet her gaze.

"Hello Susan. You're looking well."

"Mmm-hmm." was all she spared him.

Turning back to the party's host, Stark just wanted to get things going. "So Reed, are we ready to start the super-secret meeting yet?"

"We're waiting on one more party to begin." Reed said with a raised finger.

From the side of the room, Thing and Johnny Storm entered, already engaged in a conversation.

"I keep telling' ya Ben, there's all sorts of movie roles you could get."

Thing shook his head. "I don't wanna be plastered all over da place like some circus act."

Dr. Connors let his cup of coffee dangle in front of his mouth as he watched the rocky mountain of a man walk past.

"Hey stretch I hope your little science club lets out before the Knicks game."

Reed rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Ben but this might run long."

"eh, I should probably go down to the Yancy Pub." Thing groaned. "But I just know those punks'll be waitin' to pelt me with eggs or water balloons or sumthin' "

"I'll go with you Ben, you'll make a great wing-man." Johnny Storm strutted past Thing, who shook his head and snarled his lip.

Outside, the sound of turbines could be heard lowering onto the pad atop the building.

"Ah, it sounds like our final guest has arrived." Reed announced.

I wasn't long before two SHIELD agents came down the steps and held open the door. Following them came Captain America in full uniform, the iconic shield strapped to his back.

"Hello Everyone."

Tony was the only one in the room not taken-in by the awe of his presence. Even a braggart like Johnny Storm kept quiet. With a strange mixture of reverence and curiosity, Reed approach the Avenger and shook his hand.

"Professor Richards," Cap said with a nod. "Dr. Banner was happy to come."

"I just had to know what kind of science-hijinks Mr. Fantastic and I could get up too."

All eyes turned to the lean, modestly dressed man entering the room. His brown hair somewhat messy, his glasses just a thin frame.

"Now I know what your all thinking…"

No one even took a breath.

"I thought he'd be taller." Banner braced for a response of some kind, but still the room was silent.

"Just kidding, only Xavier knows what everyone is thinking."

Kitty of all people let loose a bright laughter that seemed to deflate the tension in the room.

Banner used a finger to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "I guess I should stick to smashing things huh?"

Richards waved away his concern. "Trust me, it's your brain I need today, not your brawn."

Taking Reed's hand, Bruce smiled. "Well it's good to know that regular old Bruce Banner can be of use to someone."

Curt Connors practically spat his coffee out after such a statement. With all eyes now on him, he steeled his courage enough to defend his outburst.

"Well come on, I can't be the only one in this room to be humbled by the presence of a scientific mind like Bruce Banner!"

"Well I'm humbled by your praise Dr. Connors." Bruce returned as Connors stood the shake his hand. "You're someone who's work has done so much good for humanity, unlike mine."

Susan walked through the center of the room. "Well now that we all know each other, we can begin."

Soon enough all present were assembled for Reed's presentation.

Reed stood in front of his lab, all before him the guests waited to learn why they had been summoned. "Now as most of you know, my discovery of the Negative Zone proved that separate dimensions were not only real, but travel to them was possible. So then I asked myself: "what about alternate realities?"

My idea was similar to how we scan for signals from extraterrestrials. We built an array that looks for broadcasts from outside our solar system. The device that I've built here, does something like that."

"Are you saying you've intercepted signals from a parallel universe?" Beast asked.

Reed couldn't help but smile. "That's exactly what I've done."

Most were silent, but one spoke-up.

"Cool story bro." Stark called out. "But why drag us here? You just had to tell someone?"

Reed raised his hands defensively. "Trust me, there's a reason I invited you here besides showing off."

Johnny leaned over to speak in Cyclops' ear: "I knew it."

Reed continued; "You may have noticed that I've gathered a variety of scientific minds here, let me show you why."

Reed stretched his hand over to a button panel and entered a series of commands. The monitor screen folded out from its ceiling compartment, and a video feed flickered to life. A familiar Japanese news broadcast played itself.

Banner was perplexed. "Uh, your breakthrough evidence of a parallel universe is Japanese morning news?"

Reed gazed at Bruce Banner, momentarily stuck for a response. "N- no, no! just keep watching. I've made a compilation to show you."

On the screen, the image changed to show drone footage of Godzilla fighting the maser tanks, and using his atomic breath to demolish entire buildings in a heartbeat. All were quite now as the presentation continued. A flash of static and a male British newscaster was brought up.

"… _And we see here in the footage of Godzilla's attack a little over a year ago, when he laid siege on the Tokai Nuclear power plant in Japan_."

The voice changed as a narrator spoke over the images of the attack. " _A path of destruction all to familiar to the beleaguered nation_."

Now with audio, the sound of Godzilla's roar blared from the speakers as the titan was met with a barrage of maser bolts.

" _Once again, Godzilla has humbled mankind; the Drone Battle Group, devised and commanded by Major Sho Kuroki was not enough to repel the monster_."

Maser tanks and DAG units were shown dashing down city streets, narrowly avoiding falling debris, and shooting their energy attacks at on off camera foe.

"Well I like their taste in cars." Stark said from the back.

" _In one of his rare solo forays into a populated area, Godzilla showed an otherwise indifferent attitude to civilization_."

Dr. Connors awed at the beast on the screen, clear reptilian features, but the obvious features of the dorsal plates and the tiny ears baffled him.

" _Not even the pride of the JSDF, Kiryu, could stand in his way for long_."

Tony Stark took a few steps forward, staring hard at the Mecha. He watched Kiryu drive his gauntlet dagger into Godzilla's shoulder, and hit him with an uppercut.

"Now that… looks like fun…"

" _In the end however, Godzilla proved to be too much for the combined efforts_."

Now the otherwise dark picture was pierced by the torrent of bright-bluish atomic fire, that turned the streets of the city into an inferno.

" _The core of the Tokai plant was removed and drained_."

Godzilla held the core in one hand, standing alone as the city burned around him.

Bruce Banner physically pushed his way forward, adjusting his glasses. "It's consuming the radiation from the core! That much leaked radiation would contaminate the area for miles!"

" _Now with the district mostly repaired, the EDF reports that Kaiju attacks world-wide is at an all time low_."

A shocked Beast pondered the statement aloud. "Attacks world-wide?"

Reed held up a finger, and entered a new command into the panel. On screen the images flashed by, spending only seconds on a single scene. "There are more."

Footage of Rodan flying in between skyscrapers, façades being ripped out in the wake of the sonic stream and raining down tons of debris

"I know that street." Cap chimed. "That's only six blocks from here!"

Now glitchy home video footage showed Baragon trudging down the Ganges River while people screamed and fled for their lives.

Kitty Pryde covered her mouth, her eyes quivering at the sight of the terror.

Gaira, a hulking, hideous green monstrosity rampaged across an airport tarmac. It plunged an arm into the control tower, and extracting a number of small objects, shoved them into its misshapen jaws. Even Professor Xavier was visibly disturbed, his typically calm veneer replaced by tight lips and a concentrated focus.

Johnny Storm now stepped forward, recognizing the cityscape of Los Angeles. Cell phone footage of Hedorah captured the vile beast shambling through an intersection. The could of smog which L.A. was known for now fed the horror. The last shot of it was a vertical, pulsating red eye catching the crowd of humans scrambling away, and a gust of black wind sweeping over them.

Cap somberly voiced the question they were all thinking. "Mr. Richards, why did you bring us here? Why show us these things?"

The screen went blank, the presentation over.

"Because I need your help. They…" Reed pointed to the screen "They need our help." 

**LATER**

After a break, the assembled heroes now confronted Mr. Fantastic's offer.

Cyclops reclined on the couch. "I don't know. We have enough problems dealing with our own enemies, how can we help these people fight giant monsters?"

"How exactly." Banner echoed. "Even if we had solutions for them, it's not like we can just walk through the back of the wardrobe."

Banner was met with a few confused stares.

"I got the reference, Bruce." Xavier told him.

Banner thanked him.

Dr. Connors sat apart from the rest, staring at the device that stretched from floor to ceiling. Kitty sat down on the couch next to him, startling him out of his stupor.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Connors was still overwhelmed. "I am, it's just… a lot to take in."

"I know, all those terrible monsters, the constant war those people must go through to keep themselves alive."

"And just what does Richards think I can do?" Connors put his hand to his chest for emphasis. "I don't have any super-powers, no flying suits of armor, hell, I'm missing half an arm!"

Kitty looked him in the eyes, "I'm sure that Richards thinks you have a lot to offer, why else would he invite you?"

Reed was making some adjustments to his device and gave Beast a quick glance as he approached.

"So do you think I'm as crazy as the others?"

"Not sure Reed." Beast patted the side of the machine. "Travel to an alternate reality, save their humanity from a plague of behemoths. I'm sure they'd love the help, but is this something we really want to take on?"

Reed gestured from left to right across the span of the room. "Look around this room Henry, we've got Avengers, X-Men, the Fantastic Four, how many world-ending threats have we faced? How many super-villains have we stopped? Why do we do all this if not to make the world a better place?"

" _Our_ world, yes." The X-Man pointed out.

Tony Stark nursed a can of soda, following the line of thoughts going through his head. " _A giant dragon machine that fights real monsters… How do I not take the leap?"_

Johnny Storm, his sister Sue, Ben 'Thing' Grimm, and Steve Rogers all sat together, each anxious to know what course of action would be decided.

Cap put down a glass of fruit juice. "I know you guys go on adventures like this all the time, but do you ever stop to think if you're doing more harm than good? Meddling in different dimensions?"

"We don't know if the things we do here will work out for good or ill." Sue admitted. "But that doesn't stop us from trying."

"Sometimes you gotta take a leap, and see where it takes ya." Thing explained.

Johnny, leaning his cheek on his hand, nodded in agreement. "Oh that's deep Ben, real deep."

Stepping into the center of the room, Reed spoke to them all. "Everyone… I know I'm asking a lot of you. But I wouldn't have asked you here if I didn't think you had the skills and the courage to be a part of this.

'Godzilla' seems to be the most dangerous of the lot, and for that reason especially, I ask Dr. Banner and Dr. Connors to devise theories on how to defeat him. Henry, Mr. Stark, if we put our minds together I think we can figure out a way to breach the wall between our worlds. Once there, we can help the native forces to improve their defensive measures.

That's my general outline for now. Are there any questions?"

Slowly, Kitty raised her hand. "Do we all get to go?"

"Absolutely not." Cyclops denied instantly.

"Aww…" She complained.

Reed smiled a weak smile; "Sorry Kitty, but not all of us here will be needed to take the trip. To that end I'm drawing the line in the sand. Whoever wants to leave now, go home, you are welcome to do so. I will not think any less of you, and I don't think anyone else here would either. But if you choose to stay, and be a part of this, then plan for a long night because we have a lot of work to do. So if you wanna leave, now's your chance."

No one moved, no one spoke, they just glanced among each other to see who would take the easy way out. After almost a minute had passed, Reed nodded his head. "It seems we are agreed then."

Over the course of the next week, the team prepared themselves to become monster slayers. Xavier and Cyclops stayed the first night, but left the next morning. Xavier having a few ideas of his own on how to confront such creatures. Cyclops just wanted to make sure Wolverine was keeping his claws to himself. They decided to leave Kitty behind after much pleading and begging on her part.

Which was all for the better as far as Johnny was concerned. Not a day passed where he wasn't trying to get her interested in him. But despite his best, most practiced efforts she remained more interested in finding ways to learn from the scientists and help them with their projects.

One day he found himself hunched over a tabletop, watching as she phased herself through a wall, handing one end of a cable from Beast to Stark. His sister came-up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"What's a matter Johnny? Can't get her to admire your abs like your last girlfriend?"

"Ha-ha Sue." He mocked.

Sue put her chin in her hand. "Besides, isn't she a little young for you?"

"What?" Johnny objected. "She's only like two years younger than me!"

"She's still in high school Johnny. I know she's cute, but give it a rest." She said before walking away.

Johnny grimaced, but then his expression popped into one of mischievous excitement.

"You're right. I'll go see what Ben's up to."

Elsewhere, Banner and Connors were examining radiological and evolutionary graphs.

"I can't pinpoint what class he belongs to." Connors said, tapping his finger on a picture of Godzilla. "Some of his facial features lead me to think he's some kind of Therapsid. I mean, the evolutionary distance would explain some of the unusual features, but, what are the dorsal plates for? And how is his body not falling apart at his mammoth size?"

Banner held in front of him a pair of radiological charts. "Radiation seems to be a direct source of energy for it. With the ability to consume power like that, the mutations in its evolution would be able to accumulate much faster than normal. If that even is a feature of mutation."

"And the breath could be the product of successive generations using the excess heat as a weapon." Curt theorized. "Not unlike a horned lizard shooting jets of blood at a predator, earlier version of his breath might have been a super-heated vapor."

Holding the diagrams together, Banner gazed to the ceiling as he thought. "So then the key to defeating him is to go after his body's reserve of radiation."

Connors strode back and forth. "If we do that, he might be rendered inert, like a reptile in cold temperatures, perhaps even enter a hibernation of some kind."

"So how do we neutralize his power?"

Dr. Connors turned away, seeming to remember something. "There was something we experimented with when I studied the effects of nuclear waste on local reptile populations. Have you ever heard of Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria?"

Banner gave way to a knowing smile. "Why yes, yes I have."

Reed entered the lab carrying a transparent tablet, on which he manipulated an array of controls. Phasing through a wall, Kitty approached him carrying a small box with several wires sticking out.

"Is this the part you were looking for Mr. Richards?"

Somewhat surprised Reed reached into the box and retrieved a rectangular box with a yellow and red wire coiled around it. "It is Kitty! Where did you find it?"

Kitty stuck out her thumb behind her. "It was stuck behind the super-cooling unit."

"Huh, how'd it get there?" he wondered to himself.

"So how's the portal coming?" She asked, hopping up to sit on a work table.

"Excellent so far." Reed stretched his hand over to where Beast and Stark were working on a spherical device. Without looking, Beast held up his hand and received the small gadget over his shoulder.

"The device we're working on will scan its target, then create a portal large enough to allow it through."

"Looks like a soccer ball."

"It does a little bit…" Reed thought. "We designed it so that we'd be able to take it with us."

"So, the ball design was an idea I had a few years ago." Stark said as they worked.

"You don't say." An uninterested Beast mumbled.

"I was designing a device to send 3-D renderings from one spot to another. I figure archeologists, doctors, engineers would love it."

"So why didn't you finish it?"

Tony paused to think. "I think I lost it when Mandarin blew-up my lab." 

**3 DAYS LATER**

"Well, I hope this doesn't end with me being stepped on!"

Tony raised his glass of champagne to the group; his relief at reaching the end of this phase apparent to all by the long, deep drink he took that drained the cup.

Around him, returning his toast were those who had stayed on during the past week, a group that now included Cyclops, Jean Grey and Martha Connors.

Reed raised his glass in turn. "I just hope to do the best we can."

Several more smiled, Kitty, holding her glass of champagne looked to Jean questioningly. After a smirk and a nod from her mentor, Kitty happily took a sip from her glass.

One face however, was not filled with excitement. Martha Connors looked down to her glass, seeing herself frown in the reflection. She hugged her husband's arm a little closer as she gathered the nerve to speak.

"I had a few questions about your gambit, Mr. Richards."

"Yes?"

"What if their governments don't want your help? What if they don't trust you? I mean I'm sure you all had your own experiences of having to deal with public perception and the lawful consequences of your actions."

The questions struck the X-Men particularly deep, their sad history of persecution and demonization, stemmed only by their tireless public efforts to combat dangerous mutants, and the intervention of the Avengers. For a moment, Cyclops remembered the moment when Captain America himself used his shield to protect Jean from the hail of garbage being thrown at her.

Pursing his lips and measuring his thoughts, Reed answered her the best he could. "Well I'd expect them to be cautious of us at first; I have no reason to think they'll draw weapons on us."

Stark raised his hand to interject. "If they don't want our help then we'll respect their wishes, but we'll offer some consultation nonetheless."

Still worried, Martha faced the rest of them. "I know Curt isn't going, but what about the dangers the rest of you'll be facing? From what Curt told me these monsters can wipe out whole cities in a day."

Susan stepped forward, trying to reassure the fretful wife. "Listen, Martha, we've faced dangerous odds before, all of us. We'll be alright."

"They're the professional heroes hun." Curt said, rubbing her back for comfort. "They know what they're doing." 

**NEXT MORNING**

 **BAXTER BUILDING**

 **SHOWTIME**

Despite the pleasant weather the team enjoyed over the last week, this day was overcast and rained furiously. To some it would have been an omen, but to Tony Stark it was merely annoying.

"Of all the days we spent cooped-up in the lab, it had to rain today."

Tony stared out over the city as a flash of lightning streaked across the sky. The thunder unusually loud Tony thought.

"Hey, you think Thor's in town?"

Tony turned; behind him Captain America was helping Banner gather his research material.

"I don't think so; he usually stops by whenever he's on Earth."

"It's been a while since we saw him right?" Banner asked.

Stark turned back to the window, a hundred different plans going through his head. "Yeah… the life of an Asgardian prince must be a busy one. Too busy to break-up a little storm for his buddies apparently."

Banner and Cap exchanged a set of rolled eyes. Bruce closed the lid on one of his suitcases.

"Well Tony, I hope the ANEB that me and Connors developed will be enough."

"Don't worry, my D-3's will do the job. I'm actually a little disappointed we can't turn you lose on some of those titans."

The atmosphere in the room became as grim as the outside.

"Tony I think we all know why Bruce isn't going." Cap reminded him.

Stark seemed to let the issue go, begrudgingly, and walked away. "Alright fellas, it's time for me to suit-up."

"It's too bad Dr. Connors and his wife left last night." Banner said as he slipped on a raincoat. "I would have invited them to the mansion for dinner."

Rogers handed him the handle of a second case. "Reed did kinda hijack him. Plus he needed to get back to his day job eventually."

"I know. Say, you're in the information loop; can you tell me if Fury knows about what we did here?"

"I'd bet on it." Cap remarked. "And I'm sure he's watching like a hawk through one means or another."

"Well, let's hope he's watching with his good eye."

Cap gave Banner a deadpan look before grabbing the heavier of the bags. They both began to leave when a recurring question came back to Bruce.

"You know, I am wondering what Thor is up to."


	4. Chapter 4: The Plan

**STARK INDUSTRIES PRIVATE DOCKYARD**

"So we waitin' for the tin-man to show-up before we go this show on the road?" Thing stretched his arms over his head, the patter of the raindrops on the roof of the warehouse only taxing his patience.

"Yes Ben, Iron Man is the final member of our fellowship." In the center of the room, Beast was manipulating a device in his hand, looking back and forth between it and the universe scanner that had been relocated from the lab. Reed and Susan were working on the radar atop the machine, making a few fine adjustments.

"Are you sure we wanna wait for Stark? We are trying to make a good impression here." Reed's expression panned; "sweetheart I know he rubs you the wrong way, especially ever since the party at the Avengers Mansion."

"He groped me!" Susan interjected, "Then tried to pretend like he didn't recognize me from behind! He's lucky he was drunk at the time."

"Stark's probably drunk again."

Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Johnny Storm sat gathered together among metal folding chairs. Jean leaning against Scott's shoulder, Johnny with his feet propped-up on another chair.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Cyclops quipped, "Sometimes I'm surprised we don't see him on the news flying around in his suit when he's hammered."

"You guys don't remember when that happened? Hmm. So did you think about my offer Summers?" asked Johnny, sitting forward in his chair.

"I…. did Johnny" answered the X-Man; "And I'm not sure your idea about getting the X-Men to model for action figures would be a good idea."

Johnny leaned back in his chair, resting his head in his hands "I'm telling ya, it did wonders for us. But then again, I suppose Professor X would make kind of a lame toy."

Cyclops immediately reached for his visor, but felt his hand being kept away. He looked sidelong at Jean, who fixed him with a warning glare.

The sound of 90's rock music filled the immediate area as Iron Man swept into the warehouse, landing feet away from the portal sphere as it sat perched on a tripod. "alright folks! Who's ready to meet the monsters?"

In short order, all were ready, the group taken to sitting in two Fantasticars, Reed occupying the pilot seat in the foremost. "Okay everyone, the portal-sphere is linked to the scanner, so even when we're on the other side, the sphere is connected here."

"We've also programmed it so that we'll arrive in Tokyo." said Beast as he examined his own hand-held device.

Johnny Storm leaned over from his seat and peered over McCoy's shoulder. "Really? How'd you get it to do that?" Beast casually turned to Johnny and moved his glasses down his nose, "Science, Johnny. We used Science."

Thing began to chuckle, "Good answer Doc, he wouldna understood the first technical term outta your mouth."

"Are we all ready?" Iron Man stood before the group, and no-one raised any objection.

"Got the case Ben?" Reed asked, still doing last-second function checks on his cars control panel. Thing held-up a white suitcase; "Got it stretch."

"JARVIS fire it up!" announced Iron Man in his modified voice, his own eagerness beginning to poke through.

From its position on the tripod, the sphere came to life, stripes of green light surged along contours of its surface. Then from the illuminated contours a wash of green light exploded out and covered the group. A light humming sound was emitted as the light pulsed.

Concern creasing the face of Jean, she "This light isn't radioactive is it?"

"No of course not." Answered Reed, without the slightest hint of regard for her fears, "The core is well insulated."

From the center of the sphere, an arched-wall of psychedelic flowing colors fanned-out, large enough for the two hover cars to pass through on either side.

With the light display projecting across his face, Beast stared into the polychromatic void; "I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it."

The two cars surged forward, and all were covered in the ethereal kaleidoscope like passing under a waterfall.

Instantly, they were in a park. A bright, warm, cloudless day in a city park.

Iron Man glanced around, inspecting the mundane point of entrance into a new universe. "Well, say what you want about the giant monster problem, at least they've got nice weather today."

Around them, the park was fairly deserted. A few bystanders were stopped in their tracks at the bizarre sight. Suddenly aware of the spectacle they were, Beast made a sidelong suggestion, "Uh, Ben, we should activate the image inducers."

Seeing a woman 50 yards away flee from his gaze, Thing felt the all-too familiar sting of being so frightful to look at. He pursed his lips and grumbled his agreement. "yeah."

The wrist-worn image inducers, much the same kind that Nightcrawler used to go out in public without causing a panic, were activated. Both Beast and Thing were transformed; their inhuman appearance was replaced by normal looking Anglos, if a bit out of proportion. Thing gazed down at his hands, taken aback the sight of human flesh again.

"Sorry Ben". Beast said, offering an apologetic smile, "it can cloak your appearance but not alter your dimensions."

Thing, still examining his hands and illusory clothing, seemed more amused than le down "Trust me fuzzy, I'm fine with looking like a bulky human instead of a golem for a day."

"Alright everyone, from here we walk." Reed faced the fellowship he had assembled, "No need to for us to make a scene riding around in these." gesturing to the Fantasticars, "If the layout of the city is the same as ours, the Kantei _{Office of the Prime Minister}_ is only a few blocks from here. Ben, the case."

Thing handed Reed the case he had carried as all members climbed out of the crafts.

"Wait did we just get in the cars to fly thirty feet and get back out?" pointed Johnny, his arm stretched towards the twin hovercrafts.

"I know what you're saying Johnny…" his brother-in-law answered entering a command into a panel on the sphere to shut it down. The fan of multi-colored waves sucked back into a center. He placed the device into the case, and sealed it. "But the less complicated the objects passing through, the better. Riding in the cars made it easier for the system to read us."

"I'm sure you could use a bunch of science words to explain it to me."

"I could."

Johnny narrowed his eyes, coyly acknowledging his lack of scientific expertise, and lack of real interest. "Just keeping you on your toes."

Susan held her own remote device, and with a few commands, the twin Fantasticars ascended into the air, and vanished in a wave.

"You get all the cool toys." Jean mentioned after watching the display. Susan smiled, collapsing her device and replacing it into a pocket. "Our cloaking tech is modeled after my own ability to bend light to become invisible."

The group began to set off, Iron Man none too inconspicuous. "You guys think I should climb out of the armor?"

Cyclops looked around at the city, smirking, "Nah, this is Japan; people will just think you're a cos-player of some kind."

Despite the attempts of the group to avoid drawing too much attention, they were in fact noticed. As they passed a car, none of them saw the shimmering image of burning red eyes in the driver-side window follow them.

There was another who felt their presence.

 **FLOOR OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN**

It is often said that Earth's oceans held more mysteries for man than the moon. Slumbering in the murky depths was something that men often wished had remained a mystery.

A school of fish glided through the water, moving in unison as if directed by a single mind. Their fragile dance however was scattered. Without warning, an eye larger than a car popped open beside the small school, the flurry of activity drawing its focus. The iris, colored like a fiery explosion, scanned the surroundings instinctively.

 _Something is not right._

With a smoothness of motion that belied his size, Godzilla craned his head up from where it rested, the trailing mud suspended in the water for a moment.

 _Another strange feeling, not so different than the one before_.

Bending elemental nuclear forces to his will, Godzilla fixated on where the disturbance was emanating from. A wash of bubbles escaped between his teeth as he grunted, the rest of his bulk rising from the sea floor. Outcroppings of rock were pulverized under his hands as he propelled his body upwards. His mind set to course on a destination all too familiar to him. A place the humans called: Tokyo.

 **KANTEI**

 **OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER**

 **TOKYO**

Cyclops was right, as Tony found out.

Along their way to the Kantei, dozens of people had expressed their delight at the Iron Man armor. After several pictures, an autograph, and several young men who seemed to be in awe of the suit were finally persuaded to leave them be, they stood in the presence of the Kantei.

"It's uncanny Stark" started Beast as they climbed the steps to the door, "we've not been in this universe for an hour, and you're already famous."

"Hey, some things just never change."

Once inside, they spent a few moments gawking at the layout. Spacious, yet comfortable. Reed and Beast approached the front desk, where a bewildered female secretary stood to greet them. Reed broke ahead of the group and addressed her; "Hello, we're here to speak with the Prime Minister."

Still off-put by the queen collection, the secretary nonetheless tried to be professional. "Do… do you have an appointment?"

"I'm afraid no" Beast said, his own Japanese a bit more smooth; "you see we've arrived here with very short notice, but it is imperative that we speak to the Prime Minister."

The secretary tilted to her side, her eyes fixed on the abnormal size of Beast's arms. "I'm… sorry but I can't let you-"

"Step aside boys…" striding past Beast and Reed, Iron Man leaned his arm over the counter, his face plate opened and he flashed his best smile at the baffled woman. "Listen, I'm sure my friends may seem a little strange but let me-"

"You there!"

Tony and the rest were surprised when a military officer, flanked by a dozen more armed guards blocked-off one side of the room. The sound of scuffling behind them betrayed the presence of another squad of soldiers.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." began Tony, the group raised their hands, not wanting to give the men any sign of hostility.

Johnny leaned slightly over to Jean; "Hey Jean, why don't you just, ya know, hit these guys with a mind whammy?"

"We're trying to help them, not start an inter-dimensional incident!" she scolded. "Is that even a thing?" Johnny asked without any sarcasm. "well I don't want to be the first!"

Reed cautiously stepped forward, his hands still raised, his posture submissive to the authority figure.

The officer still glared at them. "who are you bunch?"

Visibly relieved, Reed tried to begin his explanation "you speak English! That's good. Look I know how weird this looks but we are not here to cause any problems, in fact we're to help. We need to speak to the Prime Minister."

The expression on the officer's face slackened, reeling at the gall to make such a statement. "The Americans must be putting drugs in the drinking water, now we have to deal with deranged tourists!"

Reed calmed his voice, "Sir, I promise you we are not tourists, and I am very serious when I say we are here to help. But to do so, we need to work with your leadership."

The officer's expression seemed to relax a bit, his eyes darting from one member to another, stopping on Iron Man for a moment. "And you… brought a robot with you?", pointing to the Avenger.

"Oh no, I'm not a robot! It's just a suit! See?" The armor opened and Tony stepped out, the sound of the guards gasping made him smirk. "I know guys; it happens to everyone the first time the see the awesomeness of the suit."

His mind now forced to accept that these were no drug-addled Americans; the officer gave another look to the others. "The rest of you?"

Licking his lips, Reed considered his next decision. "Guys? How about we convince them?"

Thing cocked his eyebrows nervously "you sure stretch?"

"Might as well get it out of the way." Reed said, yielding to the inevitable; "I apologize Sir, but this may be a little jarring."

Slowly, Reed stretched his abdomen to an impossible length, causing the armed guards to gasp. Jean Grey levitated herself off the floor, and eyes went as wide as they could manage. Both Thing and Beast deactivated their image inducers, shrieks from men and women filled the space.

The guards staggered, their postures tense, ready to bring their weapons to bear in an instant. Beast, not one unfamiliar with having guns drawn on him, was nonetheless ill at ease; "Reed, are you sure this was a wise decision?"

"I have to think that after attacks by giant monsters, this wouldn't be so bad."

The officer pointed to where Johnny and Cyclops stood together. "what about those two?"

With his arms still raised, Johnny motioned to himself and Scott "Oh, our powers aren't indoor friendly."

Cyclops turned to Johnny, irritation twisting his mouth. "You could have phrased that a little better."

A bit incredulous, Johnny crinkled his brow "What? 'Fire and lasers'? Should I have said 'we shoot fire and lasers'?!"

Still taking a moment to register the side-show occurring in the lobby of one of the capitol's most important buildings, the officer now regarded them soberly. "Are any of you aliens?"

The group shook their collective heads. The officer gave Beast and Thing a suspicious glare.

Beast placed a hand on his chest and spoke with practiced cordiality "Mr. Grimm and I are mutants. Earth-born mutants."

The fang filled smile Beast offered didn't seem to have the desired effect as the officer reacted with measured repulsion. "But no one's an alien?"

"Nope! All proud Earthlings here." Stark exclaimed so no-one wouldn't hear.

The officer nodded, apparently willing to just let the issue go for now, and pass them on to be someone else's problem. "We've had… many problems with aliens before."

"Completely understandable, so have we." Susan chimed, stepping forward to deliberately draw his attention away from the others.

The Officer fixed them all with a set of curious eyes "You say you are here to help. Help us with what exactly?"

Reed put on his most optimistic but serious expression, "We understand you have a Godzilla problem."

 **INFANT ISLAND**

Carrying a woven basket, the tanned skinned woman knelt down to the water's edge. Being a member of a long removed group of settlers from Japan, her small tribe had retained some ethnic similarities, but had taken on the bronzed skin and coarser hair that prevailed among south pacific peoples. Her skin tone almost as deep as her rough-spun maroon sarong.

She turned, and called out in her native tongue. A young boy hurried close to her, wearing a topless version of his mother's garb. "help me wash our clothes, then you can play after." she told him. "Ok mama." replied the carefree boy.

He grabbed a handful of clothes from the basket, and began to swish them around in the clear water of the small pond. While the tropical forestry around them was dense with vegetation, the clearing into which the modest waterfall emptied was a serene respite from the sweltering thickness of the bush.

They sat in peace for a while washing the grime from their clothes, content in the calm life they lived under the watchful eye of their island deity.

She heard the noise first, being better attuned to the atmosphere of the wild than her young son. She craned her neck around; just in time to see a flock of brightly colored, long tailed birds flee through the air. " _That's strange…_ " she thought, recognizing the type; " _They don't usually do that unless a predator is after them_."

Feeling immediately protective of her son, she scanned her eyes back and forth through the jungle, searching for any sign of danger. Suddenly she saw movement in the bush, and without taking her eyes away she grasped her son's shoulder. Her muscles tensed as the movement came closer, her own feet slowly guiding her in the opposite direction.

"Mama?" her son asked, his own eyes wide with anticipatory fear.

Her nerves were soothed however, when a familiar face emerged from the wild.

"Did you see the birds?"

The young man, her brother, gave her a curious look as he pointed to where the flock had indeed passed. He was dressed in a slightly more decorative half-sarong, and he brandished a spear, both symbols of his status as a tribal warrior.

"Yes I did, but it was you who gave a freight brother!" She scolded him, throwing a soaked cloth at his chest. He caught the clump, but his face betrayed no give to the playful baiting.

"I'm sorry to scare you, but I was sent to bring you both back immediately."

"What is it? Is something wrong? You seem worried." Her face returning to one of trepidation.

"It is Mothra, the goddess stirs, but no one knows why."

At the sound of the Goddess' name, both the woman and her son stiffened in their posture. "What is father doing? Is he with the Shobijin?"

The brother shook his head, "The priestesses are communing with Mothra now. I… I don't think even they know what has occurred."

When the trio had finally gotten back to the village, they found the rest of the populace already in the throes of worship.

The village, nestled in the barren rocky bosom of the island's volcano, provided them a measure of protection from the elements, and with ceaseless warmth. The variety of exotic flora, found nowhere else on the planet gave the settlement an almost alien atmosphere. Carved into the cliff-face that loomed over their village was a massive altar. Flanked by twin heads, not unlike those found on Easter Island, the large stone slab stretched across, it's own front engraved with images of long-ago battles.

Atop the slab, starkly different from the primitive construction surrounding it, was a finely worked threshold. On either side of a small gap, stood four golden pillars, not more than two feet high. Each one worked and polished to a smooth shine. In the center backing the gap, was a glowing stone, the top half lavender which flowed into orange, like the colors of the sky when the sun is low on the horizon.

Front and center, leading the ceremony, sat an aged man. His long white beard and ornate tall headdress signaled him out as a man of authority and stature. His grim face, tanned and wrinkled, intoned the solemn severity with which he regarded his duty. His upper body and arms swayed upwards and downwards again and again, a humble supplication in hopes that the cause of the disturbance be reveled to him.

His daughter, watching the ceremony from the back of the throng, was glad he could not see her arrive late. There were few laws that were enforced as strictly as attending worship, especially when Mothra was rousing. Creeping up to the last row of those bowing and swaying, her and her brother joined in. The boy simply stood back, not yet old enough to partake in the ritual.

Drums were beat and rocks were struck together, the rhythm giving a life to the chants in an intoxicating symphony of primal music.

It was all silenced when a piercing cry split the air. Everyone and everything came to a standstill; even the animals seemed to hold their breath.

Another, longer wail filled the space, echoing out and filling the hearts of the islanders with awe. It wasn't long before they received the sign they were looking for.

Silently and with ethereal grace, two tiny women, exact twins of each other, stepped out from the threshold on the altar. Hand in hand they approached the edge of the stone slab. The high chief bowed low, the feathers of his headdress in the sand. Behind him the rest of the villagers similarly bent their backs. Speaking in unison, the twin voices of the Shobijin resonated for all to hear.

"Mothra is sorry to have frightened any of you, but something has disturbed the Earth's energy. Something that not even Mothra fully understands."

A collective gasp washed over the crowd, even the chief trembled. The thought that even Mothra was in the dark regarding whatever this disturbance was, jabbed at their core. "Whatever the cause, Mothra is not the only one to sense it. Godzilla has also noticed it, and is currently heading to the Japanese mainland."

The mention of the name Godzilla stirred long entrenched feelings of fear and hatred in the island people. Three generations of Mothra had been killed fighting him, and each one was a devastating loss for those who referred to themselves as her "children".

Not that the Shobijin were any less distressed by the thoughts he evoked, their own hands clasping together remembering the agony they felt.

The Shobijin continued: "Mothra has decided to intervene, to stop Godzilla from doing too much harm, and to find out what has caused the disturbance."

The crowd was stunned, but never got the chance to make any objections. Another immense cry pierced the air, and they all craned their necks upwards.

High above the graven altar, where the smoke and steam from the chamber rose and danced, there was a second opening. The sound of a massive wing moving and the erratic displacement of the steam moved them all to bow. Stepping out from the inner sanctum of the mountain, Mothra flexed her wings and twitched her antennae. The vivid assortment of colors on her wings and the enthralling otherworldly blue of her compound eyes dominated all before her.

The Shobijin themselves began to sing their ancient song, and the tribe resumed their own drumming and chanting. The symphony swelled as Mothra lifted off, somehow sparing those below from the winds.

 **EDF NORCOM**

 **GREENLAND**

Cut into hundreds of feet of ice and rock, the massive installation served as the northern hemisphere's command hub for defense against Kaiju, alien menaces, and the hostile kingdom of Seatopia.

The most important room in the base was the Command Room. On a large wall spanning screen, 20 feet high and 30 feet wide, it could feature real-time satellite feeds, multi-spectrum filters, and every television network known to man. Usually however, it tracked the locations of various giant monsters. Right now a set of keen green eyes were staring-up at it.

EDF Captain Sean MacNidah, his orange hair in stark contrast to his white and black dress uniform, modeled after the United States Army's dress blues, tried to understand just what he was seeing.

"So let me get this straight" he said in his noticeable but tamed County Cork accent. "Godzilla's just having a nap on the bottom of the sea and all of a sudden he just wakes up and b-lines 'fer Tokyo?"

"Yes Sir."

The console tech, his headset askew atop his balding scalp, still sitting at his monitor station answered in the most accommodating tone he could manage, knowing the gravity of subject that came with Godzilla's movement.

"And there's no problem going on in Japan at the moment? Nothing at all?" MacNidah questioned, still not entirely convinced of the sheer randomness.

"Not that we've been able to find sir, we're coordinating with local officials now, and there's no sign of any known activity that usually draws his attention."

MacNidah drew both hands down across his face. "Could he be hungry again? Maybe we can dangle a nuclear snack in front of his nose."

The tech gave his display screen another glance over, rechecking the various data charts "His energy readings all appear to be normal."

The Tech the data charts and scans to the main screen, all showing Godzilla's vague form in various spectrum displays. Captain MacNidah exhaled in frustration. "I'll have to inform the Commander, see what he wants to do."

As he turned to leave, a new alert beeping stopped him cold. Up on the main screen, a red spot throbbed over a point east of the Polynesian Islands, and a small data window appeared next to it. The perplexed tech stared at the anomaly; "Infant Isle… Mothra."

"There's no bleedin' way that's a coincidence!" The captain said, leaning over the tech's station to glare at the massive screen closer.

"Maybe she's savvy to whatever's got Godzilla on the prowl." The balding tech said, trying to figure out the motivation of the enigmatic Kaiju.

MacNidah mulled another thought in his head; "Or maybe she's trying to intercept him… get back on the horn with the Japanese locals, give them an update. I gotta go brief the commander."

MacNidah strode away, but yelled one last instruction to the dozens of console techs. "And somebody get Redmond in here! See what he makes a' this."

 **KANTEI**

 **LOWER LEVELS**

"Well, at least they're not experimenting on us."

Tony Stark, as well as the rest of the team sat around a large, polished conference table. The subterranean room in which they had been placed seemed to be one used for private meetings. The dozen strong, armed guard detail the circled the group along the wall however, reminded them that trust was not completely established yet.

With her arms crossed, Susan sat next to her husband, waiting to see what the locals had in mind. "Nevertheless, it seems that they've decided to take us seriously."

Johnny was leaning back in his chair, is hands behind his head "This is not at all like the last time I was arrested in Japan."

"It reminds me a little bit of the last time I was." said Stark, admiring the austere, yet elegant room.

Suddenly Jean perked up, her attention turned to the double doors in the corner. "Guys, someone important is coming."

Just as she said, the double doors that served as the only way in or out of the room opened, and in came a cadre of officials. Three in military dress uniforms, two men and a woman, and two scientists stood at the head of the table, appraising the _gaijin_.

The man who stood center removed his officer's cap and placed it on the table. He began to address them in strained English. "I am Admiral Taizo Tachibana, of the Japanese Self-Defense Force."

His eyes settled on Beast, hesitating to continue for a moment. "And before we… proceed, let me inform you that the Prime Minister is not available, he is currently engaged with matters of national security. However, he has authorized me to oversee this situation. So whatever matters you are here to discuss, I will be the one you deal with."

Reed again took the lead for the rest; "Admiral, I know that our explanations may seem unbelievable, but you have the word of everyone here, for what it's worth, that we are here to help you."

The Admiral fixed him with an investigative stare. "Mr. Richards, I am of the mind that if you and your… associates intended to cause us harm, you would have done so by now. Assuming that you speak for the others, I need you to tell me just who you are, and how you think you can help us with Godzilla."

Reed stood, and clearing his throat. "Sir, as strange as this might sound, we are from an alternate universe. Myself, my wife Susan, and Dr. Hank McCoy are scientists. Mr. Stark is an engineer, Mr. Summers is a tactician, and Ms. Grey is a telepath."

Taizo narrowed his eyes, examining Johnny and The Thing "And.. The other two?"

"I'm just kind'of a hanger-on." Thing explained with a casual tone. "I tend to come in handy in tight situations."

Johnny pointed a thumb at himself, "and I'm awesome. Oh, plus I can fly."

"Anyway…" Reed started, giving Johnny a dressing-down with his eyes, "I created a device that would scan for signals from an alternate world, and it worked. But the signals I saw were of these terrible monsters wrecking havoc, so I assembled a team and devised a way not only to travel here, but create a method to defeat the one monster that I observed giving you the most trouble."

The cadre huddled together, speaking Japanese in low voices. The Admiral himself remained where he stood. "Let us say that I believe all that you have just said, what is this plan you have to defeat Godzilla?"

Reed turned and gestured to his companion "Tony…."

"Got it." Stark reached into this pocket, and produced a device the size of a hockey puck. He tossed it on the table and it slid to the center. "JARVIS, laser show."

"Coming-up sir." came the disembodied voice from the gadget.

Blue lights illuminated from the disk, four on each corner, and one full circle in the center. Expanding up and outward from the disk, a holographic image of a missile rotated in place, constructed of the same blue light. The missile was thicker than average, and it's conical front was designed like an industrial drill. Admiral Taizo's cadre gasped wide-eyed at the sight, exclaiming out loud their shock.

"Glad you admire the work." Bragged the Avenger as he circled the table "What you are seeing here is the D3 Penetrator, once it strikes a target, legs will detach from the sides." In the display, the missile struck a simulated wall, and three legs folded out from the sides and attached themselves to the surface. "With it's hold secure, the secondary function will trigger, and the front end will drill into the target, assisted by a secondary rocket propellant."

The holographic drill delved forward into the wall, detaching from the larger framework of the flight housing. "Once the head has reached the desired depth, it will explode, causing massive internal damage."

Finally, one of the white-coated scientists spoke-up. An elderly Japanese man, grey-haired and bent of posture, he adjusted his glasses as he came closer to the floating image. "I am professor Fujioka, as impressed as I am by both your technology and your concept, I must say that we have tried to use high-yield explosives against Godzilla before. But conventional weaponry is simply not enough."

"we figured." Tony had anticipated the objection "That's why we had some friends of ours design a biological weapon just for him."

The mention of a Weapon of Mass destruction made the cadre recoil. Admiral Taizo visibly tightened, the thought of a biological weapon being unleashed into the world, never mind anywhere near Japan, struck him as monstrous. Worse, was the casual tone with which these _Gaijin_ used, as if it were as natural as rainfall. His fist clenching at his side, Taizo spoke to Tony with deliberate sternness. "Mr. Stark, are you suggesting we use one weapon of mass destruction to defeat another?"

Realizing his mistake, Tony held his hands up in defense. "No, no, no! Anti Nuclear Energy Bacteria. Totally harmless to the environment. Inside the warhead of the D3 is a capsule of the ANEB, which when dispersed will coarse through his body, and consume the radioactive energy."

This, finally seemed to catch them, Fujioka rubbed his chin as he studied the looping image of the D3. "Your missiles will inject Godzilla with bacteria that steal away his power… an ingenious plot."

Tony smirked, enjoying the moment. "Yeah I know, I get that all the time."

Susan rose from her seat, and addressed Taizo's cadre: "Side-stepping Tony's ego for a moment, the ANEB only reacts to abnormal levels of radiation in it's immediate environment. Humans and animals are perfectly safe."

Beast then took his turn: "I assure you Admiral, our best minds have developed this project. This can work."

"Why are you helping us?" Fujioka asked, with a sideways glance "What is your intention?

Reed stood with hands open in the universal display of non-aggression "Simply an act of good will, to foster a working relationship between our two worlds."

Admiral Taizo stood silent for a moment, mulling his response. In theory their plan might indeed work, but that all hinged on believing this bizarre tale of a humanitarian mission from a parallel universe.

"Please Admiral," Reed pressed, "I'll be happy to provide you further-"

A raised hand from Taizo silenced Reed, and the Admiral took another moment before he went on. "how long would it take to manufacture these missiles?"

Tony bobbed his head to the side, considering the logistical and mechanical necessities involved. "With the right equipment I can start spiting them out in a few hours."

"But the bacteria takes at least a day to culture properly." Susan cut in.

The news didn't seem to impress Taizo, his face remained implacable. "Hours ago, the EDF alerted us to Godzilla's movement. That is the urgent matter that the Prime Minister is dealing with. I will authorize you to create these missiles, and I pray they are successful."

Beast's expression relaxed, as relief washed over the group like an autumn gust "Well that's good news Admiral, how long do we have?"

Taizo joined his hands behind his back, his mind now focused on this new mission. "If he remains on course, IGojira/I will reach Tokyo within thirty hours."

The air was sucked out of the room, _such a small window of time_.

Cyclops rose to his feet, and addressed Taizo with confidence "We'll do everything we can."


	5. Chapter 5: Moonlight

**"MOONLIGHT"**

 **TOKYO**

 **ELSEWHERE**

In a shopping mall, a woman stood frozen still. Her spring dress and the bags of goods in her hands hanging motionless in place. Shoulder-length black hair swaying in the breeze created by people passing her by with no notice. Her earrings however, were suspended at a 90° angle, pulled by an unseen force. Her deep brown eyes staring straight forward, her mouth agape.

"Miki? Miki are you alright?"

Miki Saegusa snapped out of her stupor, turning to see the concerned face of the man beside her. Tall and lean but subtly muscular, his presence was immediately reassuring. "Oh, Shinichi. I'm sorry, I spaced-out for a moment."

Her being an experienced telepath told Shinichi Ozaki that something was affecting her. He helped her to sit down on a bench, the muscles under his casual clothing tensing.

"What is it? What do you feel?" He asked with concern.

"I don't know. There is a strange presence in the city, another psychic presence."

He was only slightly relieved. "So it's nothing to do with, Him?"

She raised an eyebrow in his direction, a bit surprised that he would bring up the issue right now. But she guessed that his concern made sense. She shook her head. "No, nothing to do with Him."

Her eyes furrowed, a disconcerting new thought forming in her head. "But… If I felt it, then He might have felt it too."

"Can he do that?" he inched closer to her, drawn by a mix of genuine curiosity and anxiety.

"Yes, I think so. Plus… the sensation I felt, it… it felt like a warning."

It was then they noticed the singing. At first Ozaki thought it was just the ambient music pumped out by the mall speaker system, but it was now intensifying, and becoming clearer, a woman singing a ethereal melody. They both heard it, searching for a source, Miki looked to see the people passing by paying no attention to the strange sound. Then it clicked for her. "It is a warning!"

Ozaki tensed in alarm. "Warning about what?"

A tiny sound caused Miki to glance up to the top of Ozaki's head.

[ _GASP!_ ] "Oh my god!" She covered her mouth in surprise.

A moth, glowing with all the colors of the rainbow sat perched on his hair, it's tiny antennae bobbing. Ozaki remained still, his eyes trying to see something atop his head.

"Is there something on my hair?"

The tiny moth left it's position and glided down to sit on Miki's knee.

"It's a fairy Mothra!"

"a fairy?" Ozaki leaned down low, coming nose-to-nose with the teeny thing, only for it to use its antennae to bop him on the tip.

"uh-huh! They carry important messages. I was sent one years ago, when the SpaceGodzilla was coming."

"And we have come to you again."

The wings of the fairy morphed into colorful orbs that pulsated with each word, the two small voices sent from far away. Miki felt the magnitude of their unique bond weigh on her, and understood that this was not some social call, but rather an indication that something significant was about to happen. "Through the fairies, we can hear the Shobijin speak to us."

"You must listen," The voices from the orbs spoke in unison, circling each-other; "the strange presence felt in your city has drawn Godzilla's attention, and he is on his way to find out what it is."

Miki and Ozaki shared a tense look before she asked the obvious; "Do you know what it is?"

The Shobijin paused before answering "No, but it is something that does not belong here. When Godzilla finds it, he will attempt to destroy it."

"Destroy it?" Ozaki cut in, the sound of official Kaiju business ricking his ears.

"Yes, but Mothra will try to stop him."

 **WAKANDA**

"Still no change N'Dele?"

T'Challa, the Black Panther and King of Wakanda stood with his arms crossed as he looked out from his balcony, the green expanse of the surrounding jungle before him. Behind him, a man dressed in traditional Wakandan robes studied the reading on a translucent display screen projected from a consol covered in dials and buttons. Despite the primitive attire, the computer bank at which he and others worked was some of the most advanced technology in the world.

"No your Highness, the asteroid remains on course for our territory. It's still projected to impact in an uninhabited section of the Kingdom."

"Any reading on it's composition yet? Could it be more Vibranium?" The prospect of another deposit of the precious metal could have enormous consequences for his nation. Another massive mine could propel Wakanda into the economic stratosphere. If another party got a hold of it, especially someone less scrupulous, they could use the material to upset international balances of power.

"Our instruments are having difficulty my King, it does not appear to be made of any material we are familiar with. But it is warm."

This caused T'Challa to turn, the implications suspicious. "A warm asteroid? Is that possible?"

"Whatever it is, there is some internal thermal activity going on."

The Black Panther returned to his vigil on the balcony, gazing in the direction of the oncoming rock. "How long until impact?"

N'Dele looked again to his computer readings, returning to his King a solemn expression.

"Roughly 40 hours."

 **OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN**

"Hawk 2 in position"

The grey fighter jet leveled out, soaring easily through the warm sky, the clouds sparse enough for the pilot to see for miles.

"Good copy Hawk 2. You feeling good where you're at?"

"I'm good Hawk 1, I just wish that darn singing would quit."

Off to the right of the jet, a giant multi-colored wing rose and fell. Four jets in total held positions around Mothra as she flew, a friendly chirp acknowledging their presence.

 **EDF NORCOM**

"The team escorting Mothra has been relieved?"

"Aye Commander." Sean MacNidah answered sharply in his accent.

"Excellent."

EDF Commander Herman Blutkrieg stood next to Captain MacNidah, watching the two red lines on the grid map moved closer and closer to Japan. No small man at 6'3, MacNidah however was slim next to the imposing figure of the German. Robust and stern, Blutkrieg filled his green dress uniform with muscle.

"Have our support forces ready for the Japanese to request. We never really know vat a monster like Godzilla will do. Perhaps Mothra will be able to turn him around before too much damage is done."

"Aye sir."

Blutkrieg stiffened his posture, and executed a sharp right face; "Keep a close eye out, just in case any more _Kaiju_ show a sudden interest in Tokyo. I'll be in a meeting with their Prime Minister, ve may have discovered the cause of the sudden activity."

MacNidah faced the broad back of the Commander as he walked away, curiosity arching his eyebrows; "Will do Sir."

 **STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY**

 **NIGHT TIME**

Two men, each wearing black ski-masks hurried out from the back exit of a building into an alley, one bearing a crowbar, the other watching the far end of the alley entrance for anyone who might spot them. Crowbar's head darted back and forth, anxious for them to make their escape.

"Come on Tommy! Hurry up!"

A third masked man, carrying a large grey sack rushed out. "I'm the one carrying all the damn stuff! You wanna haul this heavy crap?"

Before the other two could respond, a brick struck their sack-carrying friend in the forehead. They watched in shock as he fell backwards. Crowbar turned, and saw a man approaching them.

"Ya know, I tell myself everyday: the one-time I leave the house without my bow, that's when something is gonna happen."

The two robbers shuffled back, pointing a finger at their stalker.

"It's that Avenger! Hawk-Nose!"

Clint Barton stopped in his tracks, his head tilted in disbelief.

"Wha- Hawk-Nose'? Are you serious?!"

Hawkeye dashed forward grabbing crowbar by the lapel of his jacket, tossing him against the brick wall. As the second man lunged forward to strike, Barton ducked down to land one punch in his gut, another to his right knee, and an elbow to the underside of his jaw.

His new punching bag knocked off his feet, Hawkeye snatched the brick he had first flung. Turning to see Crowbar recovering from hitting the wall, Barton tossed the brick straight into the air. The last robber standing got a mean, determined look on his face, and with a feral yell charged Hawkeye.

Clint dropped his guard, letting the man have a fair shot at him. A heartbeat before the man could hit him however, the falling brick shattered across the top of his head, and he fell face first to the pavement. Hawkeye stood over him scowling.

" _huff_ …hawk-nose…"

A few minutes later, The men's arms were bound behind their back by their own jackets, and left in a heap against the wall. Hawkeye calmly walked away, a cell phone in his hand. "I'll just give the local PD a ring, and you boys'll be taken care of in no time."

Rounding the corner, Clint Barton never saw what happened next. In the darkness of a smaller alley, branching off of the main one, a swirling mass of energy manifested out of thin air. Purple sparks and flames roiled with blackness, small bolts of power arching though the storm.

The noise caused by the disturbance roused the sack-carrier to wake, and he blinked trying to make sense of the mysterious formation. Suddenly, a set of red eyes materialized among the shadow, and fixated on him. The sound of malevolent chuckling echoed in the space, and the man tried his best to squirm away. The miniature storm came to an end, and the man searched frantically for any sign of where the commotion went.

He didn't have a moment to scream before a massive set of jaws emerged from the shadow and engulfed him.

 **TOKYO**

Susan Richards leaned out over the balcony enjoying the cool night air. The twenty story hotel they had been put in for the night offered an impressive vista. Behind her, Reed approached with a translucent tablet device in his hands.

"It really is amazing Hun, the amount and variety of these monsters! It's like a whole range of evolution was allowed to take place in this world that didn't for ours."

"For good or ill do you think?"

"Well, we've still got plenty of disease, parasites, and no shortage of super villains, so I guess it evens out."

Reed wrapped an arm around his wife, literally, and pulled her in for a kiss. "I saw Ben downstairs, Where's Johnny?"

"Oh, he heard that this was Scott and Jean's first time in Japan, so he offered to take them out."

 **ELSEWHERE IN TOKYO**

While Jean and Scott chose more inconspicuous attire, Johnny couldn't resist his boastful nature.

"Come on guys! I know this city's got more than monsters!"

Wearing a bedazzled leather jacket and black leather pants, Johnny Storm led the way through a young crowd bathed from all sides by neon lights. Following behind, Cyclops had his arm around Jean as they took in the attractions around them. The street was crowded with young people, flashing lights and advertisements for various types of quasi-legal hedonistic activity bombarded the spectator from every angle.

Cyclops seemed less than confident with the virtues of their environment.

"I appreciate the thought Johnny, but are you sure we should be spending our time on a party strip? I'm sure there are plenty of great cultural exhibits in town."

"What are you talking about? This is culture!" Johnny raised his arms gesturing to the surroundings, "I asked some of the locals, they say that the city is always flooded with activity when they know a monster is on the way. I guess they wanna make sure they enjoy it for one last night in case it gets destroyed the next day."

They were passed by a group of young men dressed in urban clothes, who gawked and gestured towards Jean. Cyclops bristled. "Let's just find a place, I don't want to waste our time wondering around."

"How about a live band?" Jean offered, trying to ease Scott's tension.

Johnny appraised her with a new interest. "You want some music huh?"

He looked around trying to find some tell-tale. "Here we go, follow me!"

Johnny led them into a door festooned with neon music notes and pictures of a heavy metal band. Johnny flashed a wad of American money in the bouncer's face, and they were waved in without further hesitation.

Jean leaned over to speak in Scott's ear as they passed, the volume of rowdy partygoers making any more distant talking impossible. "Maybe we _should_ invite him to hang out with us sometime?"

Cyclops grimaced at the thought. While he had to admit the younger man was in his element, and they might actually have a good time tonight, he was still uncomfortable. The thought that in this universe, people like him and Jean wouldn't be treated like freaks and monsters, was still queer to him. But here they were, out in the open, and no one was pointing and guarding their children from them. In this world mutants were the champions of Humanity, protecting them from actual monsters. Maybe he could let his guard down just a little bit, for just a little while.

Once inside, they saw that the band was already onstage and ready to perform. The lead singer, clad in tight rocker clothes and his hair spiked out as if by static electricity, was working the crowd.

{ _translated from Japanese_ } "I figure since he's on the way, we might sing _Gojira_ a little song huh?"

The crowd cheered, apparently savvy to the reference. The singer counted the band in and they began playing. The rhythm was easy to follow, and the guitar was well played.

"Good pick Johnny!" It had been quite some time since Jean was really able to let her hair down and just have the type of fun a young woman should be having, without having to worry about being recognized. She never held it against society for turning her teenage years into a state of constant anxiety, people just didn't understand what she could do, and the type of person she was. Jean Grey was a optimist at heart, friendly, and willing to believe in the best in people. Her mind lost track of the more self-conscious items that she usually had to be aware of, and let the music move her body

[ _translated from Japanese_ }

"With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound, he pulls the spitting high tension wires down!"

 **ACROSS TOWN**

In a more traditional theater, a different show was taking place. His image inducer activated, Henry McCoy was much less a spectacle, aside from the slightly abnormal proportion of his muscles. Sitting beside him in the theater house, Admiral Taizo took a sip of his tea. They sat cross-legged at the low table, the atmosphere of dim lighting and the smoky aroma of incense made Beast feel relaxed.

Before them, the performers acted out their _kagura_ play, a drummer beating a regular thump. They danced back and forth, the robes and masks of their _maikata_ shifting from light to shadow in the fire-lit space. Their _Kami_ masks a caricature of mythical figures, the hallmark of the Noh theater tradition so precious to Japanese culture.

"You say this play has something to do with Godzilla?" Beast asked, watching the movements of the actors.

"Mhm, this play originated on Odo Island, where they worshiped _Gojira_ for hundreds of years."

Beast raised a brow at this. "I thought the name was just a coincidence, you mean to say that Godzilla really is a deity of some sort?"

Taizo shook his head."No, he is a living creature just like us. But there are times that give us cause to wonder. The islander's ancestors must have encountered him at some point in the distant past, fearing that he was a wrathful god, they sought to please him by putting a virgin girl on a raft and sending her adrift out to sea."

"Oh my.."

"Fortunately, this dance is all that's left of the appeasement ritual."

A flute and string instrument joined in the play, the somber meaning of the dance betrayed by the otherwise pleasant music.

"Where I come from Admiral…" Started Beast, setting down his porcelain cup. "Many have tried to justify creating a world without my kind, without mutants. Do you think that your world would be better off without Godzilla?"

Taizo closed his eyes and took in the music for a moment. When he opened them he gave Beast a thoughtful glance, the question one he had asked himself more times than he could remember. Hearing it asked of him made Taizo consider it carefully once more.

"I don't know what the world would be like without him. For all the damage he has done, he has saved us from terrible threats time and time again. It is as if we are under his protection. But… our coexistence is difficult, and we have had limited success with making him respect our boundaries."

The dance concluded, and the players bowed to the audience.

Beast and Taizo applauded their performance; "Do you think it's possible to ever coexist with him?" the X-Man questioned.

"I think that there is a way, though we have yet to discover it, he is as much a part of this world as we are. In the meantime, all we can do is try to protect ourselves."

 **PACIFIC OCEAN**

 **SOUTH OF JAPAN**

Four Aizu Battle Cruisers formed a crescent, their guns all aimed to the south. On the deck of the ship in the center, the _Bureka_ , a sharply dressed Naval officer stared out over the ocean through a pair of powerful binoculars. Another officer approached his side and rendered a salute.

"Admiral Maki, satellite confirms Godzilla is heading directly for us."

The admiral stepped back from the deck-installed glasses, and fixed his subordinate with a hard glare.

"Are the mines in place?"

"Yes Sir."

Maki smiled greedily.

"The mines will either turn him around or drive him to surface, and if he does that we will bombard him with the caustic munitions."

More than half an hour later, complacency was starting to set in for the crewmen and women, tired of being on a tense watch for the latest sign of their target. No blips on their radars, no updates from satellite, nothing.

In the _Bureka's_ pilot house a young female crewmember tapped her pen on the side of her radar station, bored of having to stare at the small screen for so long with no change.

 _Boop._

Then there it was. About center radius, a large mass on the screen appeared from nowhere. Her eyes widened in shock. The crews on the other ships must have seen it too because their alarms started to go off. The Captain, of her own ship gave the order to sound general alarm, at this moment all battle stations were being filled. It was showdown time.

Barging into the pilot house, Admiral Maki surveyed the room like a predator. "How far out is he?"

"1000 meters and closing" came the reply from the female radar operator. Maki's face turned red with a furious glare, lunging his body over her like a lion over a fallen gazelle.

"How did he get so close Lieutenant?! Were you asleep at your post?!" Maki spat.

The young woman cowered wide-eyed, stuttering in terror as she answered him. "N-n-nn-no! Godzilla dips in and out of detection all the time!" We were lucky to pick him up when we did!… Admiral."

Maki backed off, twisting his neck in an attempt to corral his anger. He patted his uniform back into place. "So he does."

Maki turned to the ships Captain, who was a bit more concerned with keeping his own explosion of anger in check. The treatment of his crewmember was intolerable, and would be reported, but Admiral Maki was known to be a volatile, and while he was the highest rank onboard the captain deemed it prudent to wait until they were back at port.

"I want all stations ready if pokes his head out of the water. I want his eyes to burn!"

A low rumble struck the ship and everyone froze. Maki's eyes lit-up at the imminent arrival of battle "That's a mine! He's here!"

Sailors gazed out from windows, scanning the waves for the first set of underwater ' _booms'_ in rapid succession rang out, followed by a long, deep moan. The captain used his personal binoculars to gaze out, spotlights from his and the other ships danced across the waves, the disturbances caused by the triggered mines betraying the oncoming path.

"HE'S COMING UP!" yelled someone behind him. The Captain felt his pulse quicken, instinctive reflexes to flight urging him to order his ship around and get the hell out of the way. He knew damn well nothing in the battle group was going to stop what was coming, but the orders from the Defense Council was to stall, and that's what they would do.

A few hundred meters out from the front of the ships, the water bulged. Sailors pointed and exclaimed to their comrades, the cannons readjusting. Finally Godzilla's head emerged, his face a scowl and his fangs bared, contempt gleaming in his eyes. The irksome humans again positioned in his way, for what reasons he could not understand, but they would not bar him for long. He loosed an angry roar that caused the crews to shrink back and take cover from the sound.

Admiral Maki however had a sneer just as poisonous.

"All ships, Fire!"

At once, two dozen cannons opened up, their shells exploding against Godzilla's skull. He bellowed as the smoke engulfing his face turned from black to silver. His regenerative power notwithstanding, the chemical burned into his face.

Maki grinned; "Those white prosperous shells may not get through his skin, but they must set his eyes on fire!"

Indeed, Godzilla loosed a sharp cry and a massive claw swung out of the ocean to claw at his face, trying in vain to clear the chemicals away.

"Yes! That should slow him down!"

Those in the room around him recoiled from the apparent pleasure the admiral was experiencing. The leering grin, the eyes of obsession, the grip his hands had on the chair in front of him. More so, they began to fear that infuriating Godzilla with their attack would only ensure their deaths.

In an attempt to wash away the compound, Godzilla dove, hoping to flush his eyes clear. Though the water did feel good, it did little to quell the scalding pain. But as the moments ticked by, he felt his healing factor already beginning to turn the tide.

The expression darkened on a female Lieutenant watching her own station "Sir, he's diving at a rapid pace, well past our mines!"

"Let him run… let him cry!" Maki exclaimed, savoring the victory he thought was coming.

Down below, Godzilla wailed as the pain began to subside, but still stung. He felt the rocky sea floor scrape against the skin of his stomach as he rebounded, and headed back up.

"See?" said Maki as he paced around the control room, his arms out in a display of bravado. "We don't need giant robots and million dollar missiles. Just a little irritation, in the right place, and Godzilla tucks his tail between his legs like a dog!"

"Admiral?" The Lieutenant rose form her seat, her eyes still glued to the sonar screen.

Maki frowned at the interruption of his boasting. "Yes Lieutenant?"

"Godzilla is ascending, directly underneath our group, at over 40 knots!"

"All back full!" the captain screamed, taking control of his deck back from the unhinged admiral.

But it was too late. A tremendous force exploded out from the water as the ship to the left of the _Bureka_ was split in half by a beam of blue hellfire. The screams of the crew could be heard by her sister ships, and were drowned out by the munitions aboard erupting.

Godzilla emerged from between the halves, his face twisted with rage and illuminated by the fire. His fangs bared, he loosed a roar that caused the _Bureka_ to rock to one side. With one arm, Godzilla raised the aft section of the decimated ship, and hurled it clean over the _Bureka_ , where it collided into the next ship and overturned it in fire and seawater.

Admiral Maki got on his Motorola radio that linked him to all the ships in the group and began yelling into it. "Turn all guns port-side and fire!" Alarmed, the captain turned on him, putting a hand on his shoulder; "But Admiral! Godzilla's in the crossfire! We'd be firing towards our other ships!"

With a sudden savagery, Maki lashed out and slapped the captain hard enough to knock him down.

"All ships! Turn on Godzilla and fire! And if I ever hear such insubordination again, I will throw you into the sea!"

The closest cannons turned towards Godzilla, and began firing. The prosperous shells slammed against his hide but did little damage. Swiftly Godzilla dove, letting the shells pass over him, and into the other ships. Several shells sunk into the vessel on the end and resulted in a hell storm of destruction.

Those aboard the _Bureka_ covered their mouths in horror. Admiral Maki merely grit his teeth.

A massive tail flung itself out of the water, and a shower of ocean was pulled upwards. The captain gawked through the window, appalled and entranced by the sheer horror of the fratricide. Suddenly he noticed that there was something else raining down amongst the water. His eyes widened in stark terror as a mine plummeted straight onto their deck. He leapt over to the female lieutenant and threw himself over her body.

The mine struck the deck not far from the pilot house, and exploded. A cloud of flame engulfed the center of the ship as steel was rent and munitions burst in their batteries. The _Bureka_ shuddered as chunks of shrapnel hit the water, crewmembers ejected while still aflame.

A louder groan of stretching metal echoed out as a row of serrated spines cut it's way through the remainder of the Aizu group.

As the ship slowly sank, The captain helped the lieutenant out into the open air, both of them coughing through the black smoke. They collapsed in a heap against the railings, their clothes singed and the side of his face burned. The entire ship tilted to port-side, the raging fire consuming their ship becoming another in the archipelago of carnage. The bodies of their crewmates strewn about haphazardly among the wreckage.

Admiral Maki stumbled out from a gap in the wall, the right side of his uniform still carrying small flames. He loosed a horrible, labored, hacking cough as he tried to clear his lungs. The captain saw him, and setting the lieutenant aside, limped over to where the admiral leaned against a rail.

"Sir! Are you injured?" he called out.

Maki hacked, and waved him away. The captain approached and griped him by the shoulder, but Maki violently whipped around to face him.

The captain stumbled back in shock, his mouth open but unable to speak. Half of Admiral Maki's face had been burned away, on the right side from his scalp to his jaw, his skin hung in jagged frays. But what horrified the officer was the sight underneath, the second face. The bizarre silver-green skin with black veins reaching up from the neck.

The still groggy lieutenant came to, and focused her eyes just in time to see the Admiral seize the captain by his throat, and lift him off his feet. She watched in growing horror as Maki bent the man's back over the railing, hearing the sounds of him being strangled, of his body breaking in half. With a stark _SNAP!_ the captain's body went limp as his upper torso and lower now opposed each other at an unnatural angle.

She began to sob, realizing not just the inhuman murder she had witnessed, but the fiend that had been hidden among them this whole time.

The sounds of her feeble weeping caught Maki's attention, and he turned his eyes to her.

 **EAST OF JAPAN**

In the moonlight, Mothra glowed with an ethereal nimbus. The clouds over which she soared reflected the luminosity providing the pilots of the escort jets a sight previously unknown to mankind.

"It's too bad I don't have a camera with me." said the first pilot into his coms system in his Texan accent.

A second glanced about, taking in the dreamscape; "I know, I bet no one else has ever seen anything like this before."

"And the singing's not so bad, I don't think I've ever felt this relaxed."

The Jets and the Guardian sailed through the night, unaware of the dangers hidden in the shadows. Racing along the surface of the water on a parallel course to the avatar of peace, vibrant red eyes watched.

"She seeks to stop Godzilla"

"To frustrate our plans…"

"She must not succeed."

"No, …she must not."

 **MILES AWAY**

The cruise ship _Yorokobi-Maru_ cut smoothly trough the water, the passengers aboard enjoying the cool ocean breeze. One man walking along the deck observed a young couple kissing openly as they stood next to the wall. He suppressed a smirk, and turned back to his own path. He carried a drink in each hand as he approached a smiling woman who lay comfortably on a deck chair.

{ _translated from Japanese}_ "oh, Thank you hun." she thanked him in a sing-song voice.

"No problem. Where are the kids?"

She motioned over to where a pair of children, a boy and a girl, were leaning against the railing and pointing down to the waves. The man smiled, and setting down on his own chair, handing one of the drinks to his wife.

The ship coasted along for a time, most passengers marveling at the clarity of the stars offered to them by the lack of light pollution.

The young couple pulled themselves away from each other long enough to fall giggling against the railing. The girl pushed him off playfully, and turning to lean towards the ocean, took the breather to gaze out over the open sea. The boy tried to rekindle the moment, but the intent was not reciprocated. He noticed that she was staring at something off in the distance. A few hundred yards away, there was some commotion in the water.

"What is it?" he asked her, trying to figure it out.

"I don't know, it just started a second ago."

A massive arm rose out of the water, and crashed back down. The couple recoiled, oblivious to the shouts of the others who had noticed. An alarm began to sound, sending all aboard into a panic. The word _Kaiju_ was shouted by many.

The shoulders of a green goliath emerged from the sea, and a grotesque fanged face glared at the ship. It loosed a wild angry cry, and Gaira began to swim arm-over-arm for them. Screams erupted as passengers recognized the fiendish ogre, his fondness for human flesh was notorious. Seawater and slobber dripped from his fangs, perpetual hunger pushing him forward.

The ship steered away, but the cruise liner was built for luxury not evasion, and could not long outpace the gargantua.

The man and his family clutched together, trying not be get pulled apart by the frantic crowd rushing around them. He turned to his wife, fixing her with a look of fearful urgency.

"We need to pray!"

Her face returned incredulity at first, but then washed over with understanding, and finally she nodded. He grasped her by the wrist and led the four of them to the upper deck where most of the crowd had cleared away. Reaching their room, the man locked the door behind them. The family sat down cross-legged on the floor, forming a circle. Producing a stick of chalk from his luggage, the man began tracing a design on the rug in the center of his family's ring. A simple sun superimposed over a cross.

Joining hands, they began to pray, singing one song in unison.

 **EDF NORCOM**

"What the hell is going on…"

In his early thirties, Shane Redmond was not the largest man in the room, but his lean stature fooled no one who had heard the rumors about his previous line of work. His casual attire did give him an approachable exterior, and his messy blonde hair further demonstrating that he was in fact a civilian.

He gazed up to the main screen, to where three red dots were now on the move.

"We haven't seen Gaira in years, why is he popping-up now? Right when Godzilla and Mothra are on the move?"

Captain MacNidah stood next to him, a folder file open in his hand "This ain't right, there's gotta be something stirring them all up."

Redmond and MacNidah were looking over the grid, several files opened and strewn across the table. The Irishman grimaced, calculating the response times of the closest aid.

"Local military is being deployed, but there's no way they'll get there in time to save that ship."

Shane ran his hands over his face, his eyes closed in thought.

"There's a variable we're not seeing, Kaiju don't just crop-up like this on their own. Godzilla beelines for Tokyo, Mothra moves to incept, but why is Gaira attacking?"

Shane's eyes opened slowly, the cogs of thought turning.

"Mothra moves to intercept Godzilla, and then Gaira shows up… captain, I think someone or something doesn't want Mothra to stop Godzilla."

 _ **YOROKOBI-MARU**_

The engines of the cruise liner were at full capacity, but it was not enough. The sea-ogre Gaira was only a few arm lengths away, his wicked howl all the more fervent as he closed in on his prey. The misshapen features of his face accented by the greedy hunger in his wild eyes. He knew there were humans inside the ship, and he would tear it apart to get to them.

The passengers huddled inside, some wailed in terror and despair, others awaited their fate with dignity, quietly contemplating their life. But as the Gargantua's shouts got closer, the dread thickened, being gnashed in Gaira's fangs would be their last horrible moments alive.

One reach of his claws came within feet of the ship's stern, the people inside screaming in terror as they were rocked the motion so close.

Gaira knew one last lunge would deliver him his meal, and he was so focused, so driven by insatiable hunger, he didn't see the arrival of an angry guardian. The gargantua surged forward, anticipating the ship within his grasp. But found himself thrown back by twin beams of golden energy before he understood what was happening.

An aggressive trill rang out as Mothra hovered above the cruise liner, posturing herself to defend it, her blue eyes aglow in a show of power. Gaira thrashed in the water, the burning sting where he was hit rapidly healing.

Stirred by the different cry, the passengers peeked their heads out and saw that Mothra had come to their rescue. Cheers and cries of thanks filled the ship, some even dropping to their knees in genuflection.

Gaira found his bearings and turned on Mothra with a snarl, trying to splash water onto her wings. She dodged them easily, and sent another barrage of beams into his shoulders. Normally when Mothra corralled another monster, it was to protect them as much as the humans they threatened, but Gaira was a different story. She was repulsed by the ogre, and loathed his cruel savagery, unlike others he was as nasty on the inside as he was on the outside. Unable to reach the avatar of peace, Gaira could only thrash and scream. While Mothra would not be averse to putting Gaira down once and for all, she had a greater mission to accomplish, and didn't have the time to spare beating the brute to a pulp.

She beat her wings, creating a gale force to whip the sea into a frenzy. Gaira had to shield his eyes from the storm, his cries turning to frustration. Finally he dove under the surface. Mothra ceased her beating, watching for the ogre. She could sense him moving around below, unwilling to relinquish the prospect of man-flesh. She feared that Gaira would attack the boat from underneath, and hovered in-place, ready to strike.

Instead, Gaira emerged beneath Mothra and seized her abdomen with both hands, yanking her out of the sky. A shocked chirp was all Mothra managed before early being pulled down, only saved by the furious flapping of her wings, barely able to sustain the weight of the Gargantua. Gaira clutched and dug his claws into her, he snapped at her wings with his fangs trying to tear them.

The joy of the onlookers returned to fear, Mothra slowly losing the battle to stay in the air. Gaira felt his victory within reach, he would drown the guardian and feast on the flesh of a demigod.

From the blindside, a barrage of machine gun fire slammed into Gaira's back, causing him to screech in agony. He released Mothra and tried in vain to reach his wounds.

The first of the escort pilots banked hard away from the wailing beast; "If that big girl hadn't shot off at mach 4, she wouldn't a'been in that fix."

The four escort jets banked away from the wailing ogre, who lashed out at them, albeit now with a bit of wariness. He tracked the jets as they streaked past, temporarily forgetting his other foe.

Swooping in, Mothra curved in her abdomen and fired a salvo of stinger pods directly into Gaira's face, where they clung to his skin and exploded. The Gargantua cried out in pain and torment, clutching his bleeding face. Mothra steadied herself in place, extending her wings she began to cast a luminescent glow over Gaira. The moonlight refracted through her wings, rapidly increasing in intensity, and magnifying the heat. Gaira recoiled as if stung, trying to shield his eyes from the blinding light. He once again dove under the surface, this time moving away from the ship and Mothra.

Mothra felt the hideous creature fleeing the area, and let the light from her wings dim down.

"That's why she's one of the good ones, fellas." came the familiar southern drawl.

Another responded in a regional mid-western voice; "we should stamp a logo on her wings and make it official."

"Yeah, you just try meddlin' with her wings."

Satisfied that Gaira had been driven off, Mothra chirped out in victory, her eyes pulsing with azure illumination. Her antennae twitched when she heard the voices of those on the ship. Every one of the passengers were on deck and cheering for their savior. One family in particular clutched at their hearts, silently reaching out to Mothra with their thanks and praise.

This Mothra heard, and decided to honor them in turn.

Gliding calmly in a circle above the ship, leaving a tail of golden light behind her, Mothra created a floating halo. Embers and sparkles floated down from the ring, surrounding the ship in it's glow. All passengers were brought to a silent awe, marveling at the shower of shimmering gold coming down around them.

With a final chirp, Mothra broke away and headed off towards the western horizon, the military escort at her flanks.

On the water around the ship, a symbol began to glow on the sea's surface. Though it was too large for any one person to make sense of the lines and curves, there were a few who recognized it. Not just the man and his family, but a few others dropped to their knees, and lifted their hands palm-up towards where Mothra had left. And they began to sing. As they did, others joined them in the posture of genuflection, catching onto the repeating verse. Soon the entire ship was joined in chorus, all aboard had become Children of Mothra.

 **NEXT MORNING**

 **TOKYO**

Gathered on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay, were an array of military vehicles and personnel. Prominent among the group were the missile batteries, with D-3 stenciled on the side of them.

Tony Stark sat inside the cab of one battery vehicle, teaching the operators how to use the system.

[ _translated from Japanese_ } "Now once I mark Godzilla with the laser, JARVIS will automatically link the targeting data with your system. You just have to make sure all the numbers line-up on your end, and launch the suckers. We'll have Godzilla knocked out in no time."

The soldiers nodded their heads, clearly impressed with the concept.

"Then afterwards we all go out for Saki!"

The soldiers laughed, patting him on the shoulders.

Elsewhere on the line; Johnny Storm was flirting with a female JSDF soldier, Beast and Susan Richards were conversing with Admiral Taizo. Cyclops, Jean, and Thing preferring to gaze out over the bay.

Scott held her close; "Are you sure you can do this sweetheart? Get inside a monsters head?"

"well it can't be any worse than Logan's mind." she said sardonically; "If I can do anything to keep Godzilla from causing destruction, I think I should help."

Cyclops was silent for a moment. "You've been in Logan's head?"

Thing scrunched his mouth, a thought giving him a bad taste. He turned to see Reed working on the Fantasticar, checking settings.

"Hey Reed, I got to thinking…"

"Yes Ben?" Reed said without diverting his attention from his tasks.

"So we arrive in this place right, and Godzilla just so happens to start heading straight on for this city."

"Yes…"

"Well, what if he's coming here, because of us?"

This caused Reed to pause, the implications striking him like dominoes, one after another. "If he were, that would mean he could sense the fluctuations in space-time, or the energy signature given off by the portal, that he's sensitive to even relatively minute disturbances."

Reed now turned to Thing, grief dropping his features. "That would mean we're the ones attracting him here. He's locked in on us like a beacon."

Beast and Susan joined Taizo in a tent as he plotted points on a map.

"We see here…" the Admiral began, sticking several pins in a straight path, with a cluster of ships in the middle. "where the Aizu group tried to stall him… unsuccessfully. Though my colleague Admiral Maki was among the survivors, his mission to stall Godzilla with chemical weapons was not as effective as we had hoped."

Susan casually used her finger to trace the path; "Even after the skirmish, he's still on a pretty straight course."

"Most of this is assumed" Taizo sighed; "we can never seem to keep track of him for any useful length of time. Now however, every time we caught him, he was moving in one direction. It's unusual for him."

"Unusual how?" Beast chimed in, "Has he ever done it before?"

"The only times when we've seen something like this is when he's moving in on another I _Kaiju/I_ , but we have been unable to detect any activity either in Japan, or along the continued projected path."

Susan recalled the news of the other monster on its way, "Could Mothra have something to do with it?"

"I don't think so. She was on track to intercept _Gojira_ before he reached Tokyo Bay, but the fight with Gaira last night caused a significant delay. At her current speed she with not get here before he does, so we must hope to hold him off until she arrives. Kiryu is ready to deploy, but the Defense Council does not want him used unless necessary."

Beast furrowed his brow,"Why not?"

"Aside from being very expensive," Taizo remarked, "He tends to accrue a lot of collateral damage."

Startlingly, Reed hurried into the tent, a look of alarm and regret on his face.

"We need to talk."

Jean let herself lean into Cyclops' arms, enjoying the embrace on the pleasant day. Just as she got comfortable however, a shiver raced throughout her whole body from the base of her skull on down. Cyclops felt her shake and held her at arms length, watching as her eyes widened in shock.

"Jean, what is it?" His voice betraying his fear for her safety.

She wriggled out of his hug to face the water, holding her hands out in front of her. "I can feel him from here Scott, his psyche, it moves like a thunderstorm. It rolls and shudders."

"How far out is he?" He asked, looking for himself where she motioned.

Jean concentrated for a moment waving her hand slowly over the horizon.

"He's close."

 **NEW YORK CITY**

"Yeah Dani, it's pretty sweet I guess."

Kitty Pryde gazed through her reflection in the window, the rainy New York morning casting a grey gloom over the city. Her phone held to her ear she had decided on a gab session with her roommate back at the school, Danielle Moonstar. "Mr. Stark putting me up in this suite was nice and all, but I got nothing to do here, I don't know anybody in this place."

"Well it's not like you're chained there, go out and see the city."

Kitty turned away from the window and threw herself onto the lavish bed.

"I'd like to, but I just know Scott would burst a vein if he found out I was gallivanting around the city by myself. It's not like Connecticut, there's all sorts of freaks and weirdoes running around."

"I know, I saw that Shocker guy on the news, then Spider-Man was chasing after him! That's a normal weekday up there!"

A smile crept irresistibly across Kitty's face. "Yeah, that was pretty awesome!" She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "You know what Dani? I'm doing it. I'm gonna go out and see New York!"


	6. Chapter 6: Battle of Tokyo Bay!

**TOKYO BAY**

"Alright everyone get your game face on."

Iron Man soared out over the waters. The placid surface and clear sunny day deceitfully hiding the reality of what was to come.

"I'll find Godzilla and mark him with a laser sight, then JARVIS will link in the D-3's."

Reed and the rest of his team stood by the command tent, prepared to jump into the Fantasticar at a moment's notice.

"We're all set on our end Tony, hopefully we can drive him off before he reaches the shore."

"Are you sure there's no way to throw him off the scent?" Stark asked, streaking through the air, scanning for any tell-tale sign.

"Not until we figure out how he's able to sense it, and whether we even can disguise the energetic differences we exert in this world. Right now we don't exactly have time for either."

"Well I… Oh wait, I think I got him." Iron Man said before plunging under the waves.

 **BEIJING, CHINA**

A trio of children ran past a toy store, masks of Iron Man and other famous heroes hung in the windows. None of them noticed the flash of black and purple that appeared in the sky momentarily. Though a few quick observers did catch the bizarre event, and even saw the streak of an object from the foreign cloud going down into the mountains to the west.

 **NEW YORK CITY**

Kitty Pryde strolled through the Manhattan streets, craning her neck to gaze upwards at the artificial peaks. She was so rapt by the heights that she almost bumped into a blind man as they crossed paths on the sidewalks. Luckily the tapping of his cane caught her attention at the last moment, and she stopped just short of his shoulder, the man seemed to sense the averted collision and stopped, turning his head slightly in her direction.

"Oh I'm sorry, I almost hit you." Kitty sputtered, suddenly embarrassed to find her cheeks warming.

The man in the red glasses smiled politely. "Don't worry, happens all the time."

His smile was relaxing, and Kitty found herself forgetting about the skyscrapers.

"Not with cars I hope!" she nervously joked.

"certainly not, hitting a blind guy is bad, but much worse when he's a lawyer."

Kitty chuckled, and began to step around him.

"Well, have a nice day Mr..?"

"Murdock, Ma…"

The blind man paused, and seemed to be listening very intently. Kitty noticed the change in his demeanor, and stepped close to him.

"Mr. Murdock? Are you alright?"

Muscles tensed as Matt Murdock felt the force rising to the surface. Suddenly, Kitty found herself clutched in his arms as the previously casual blind man pulled her in and launched the both of them off to the side.

Before they had even hit the ground, the center of the intersection they had been standing next to erupted in a volcano of asphalt, concrete, brick and steel. Murdock used his body to shield her from the falling debris, and Kitty shut her eyes.

A huge purple hand, tipped with savage claws reached-up into the air and slammed down onto the street, crushing a taxi in the process. Dozens of cars now surrounded the intersection piled-up atop one another, their alarms blaring and their passengers crying for help.

Several more halted cars were thrown into the air when a second form burst through the pavement, not far from the first. This time a green hand punching through and taking a scoop out of an adjacent building as it was used to lift the owner from the ground.

Kitty and Matt Murdock scrambled to escape the vicinity, she took his arm and tried to lead him in a safe direction, but felt herself being pulled along by him instead.

"Hey! Hold on!" she complained, her instinct as an X-Man telling her to get the civilian to safety.

He started to yank her towards the danger; "We have to try and help anyone who's trapped!"

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" She asked without hiding her incredulity.

Murdock tilted his head towards her. "I'm good with my hands."

An enormous pair of horns followed the lavender colored fist as the brutish face of a bull rose up. The green arm gave way to the neckless head of another creature, with blank eyes and a wide mouth that contained no teeth, but a bulbous flat tongue.

The two monsters hauled themselves out of the ground, roaring and sneering at the humans who fled their gaze. The lavender bull revealed as a titanic minotaur, the other a bizarre humanoid. Another, much smaller figure climbed it's way out of the first hole. His bent posture and rotund body stood no higher than 5 feet, miniscule compared to the 70-foot behemoths. His soiled green outfit and decades out of date sunglasses were perhaps more offensive.

"That's right sun-walkers! Start spreadin' the news!"

Mole-Man panned the end of an old, gnarled wooden staff from side-to-side.

"Come on Megataur! This way Giganto! Today the Mole-Man takes Manhattan!"

 **TOKYO BAY**

The sunlight penetrated in strands at the depth that Iron Man delved through. Small schools of fish swimming darting past the alien Avenger. The water was relatively clear, with the large rocky outgrowths rising from the bottom the only distinguishing feature.

"This place feels… haunted."

"Records indicate that it was around here that the original Godzilla was killed in 1954." JAVIS' voice was a curiously out of place thing to hear in the eerie blue Tony thought. But roaming around put a new question in his mind.

"If they killed one why can't they get rid of this one?"

"It appears that the method used to kill him was weapon of mass destruction, the Oxygen Destroyer. The inventor destroyed his research, and killed himself in the same event when he deployed it against Godzilla."

"Well… I certainly respect his integrity."

He delved deeper into a sunken valley, crowded on both sides by jagged outcroppings. He came to a hovering stop in the water, pausing to let his scanners do their work.

"He's supposed to be around here somewhere, how the hell does he disappear like that?"

Behind Iron Man, the silhouette of the ridge moved.

"Uh Sir…" The disembodied voice of the AI warned; "I believe he's right where we expect him to be."

"What?"

Iron Man turned in the water and found himself surrounded by motion. Partially hidden in the murk, a hand the size of a swimming pool moved through the water, making no more disturbance than if it were a fish. Suddenly Iron Man's HUD sprang to life, and was able to map-out everything within scope.

"Oh my, that's… that's a neat trick you got there, evading my sensors like that."

Slowly, Godzilla hefted himself off of the sea floor, paying no more attention to Iron Man than he did the rocks.

"Sir, my precursory readings indicate that his hide may be too durable for the D-3's to penetrate."

"That can't be JARVIS, they could drill through solid steel."

"Be that as it may, my attempts to analyze the strength of his skin are… inconclusive."

Iron Man followed alongside Godzilla, keeping in place by his thigh.

"Well, only one way to find out."

Lifting his right arm, a small aperture folded out shooting a thin red beam. The laser touched Godzilla just behind his right shoulder, and Iron Man thrust along to keep pace.

"Alright guys, target marked, fire when ready."

The missile batteries on the water front adjusted to the correct trajectory, the crewmen inside checking to make sure the data was correct. Then one after another, several D-3s were launched and streaked away.

Watching the projectiles shoot off, Johnny Storm crossed his arms and tilted his head; "Hey Reed, what if the missiles only make him mad?"

All eyes turned to Johnny, a bit incredulous at the question. Reed let his brow drop a little bit, the very real possibility of failure was something that whispered over his shoulder.

"Then we have our work cut out for us."

The D-3s slid into the water and found their target. The missiles shed their outer casings moments before impacting Godzilla's skin. Their legs sprouted out and anchored themselves on, the secondary thrusters kicking on to propel the drills forward.

Iron Man watched them attach to Godzilla like a swarm of flies, his HUD displaying data windows of their projected effectiveness based on location. "let's see if he shrugs these off!"

After a few moments of spinning, the legs warped and bent as the drills failed to punch through. The small charges exploded, releasing the ANEB harmlessly into the water.

"Sir, I hate to say-"

"No time for gloating JARVIS. Be warned guys, the D-3's can't get through!"

On the beach, the news kicked off an outburst of activity, and suddenly Reed became the focus of attention in the command tent.

"Well, what's his reaction?"

Godzilla's head turned in Iron Man's direction, a gleam of anger focused on the single individual. It didn't help that Tony's HUD magnified and clarified the image.

"Uh… bad! Very bad!"

Iron man turned and fled just as Godzilla dashed forward to pursue him, the water around him boiling.

Johnny put his hands on his head, "See, now he's mad!"

"And coming right for us!" Cyclops said, joined by the alarmed X-Men.

Admiral Tachibana began pointing and shouting orders to those around him. When he and Reed connected at a glance, the feeling from the admiral was no longer one of optimism, but regret.

Beast's ears moved back and forth, catching snippets of the Japanese being yelled; "They're scrambling to get Kiryu here, but we all know the destruction they're going to cause if they fight!"

Susan grasped her husband by the shoulders, and trapped him in a stare. "Reed, he is coming here because of us."

Reed Richards looked around him, to the soldiers scrambling to get into a proper fighting position, to the calm waters that he knew would soon birth a monster.

"Then let's go out and meet him. Summers! You're with me!"

Both men jumped into the car, but Thing laid a hand on the side, tilting the whole thing.

"What about us?"

"If we don't turn him back," the hurried Mr. Fantastic began, "The rest of you need to make a stand at the shore, at least until reinforcements arrive."

Cyclops leaned over to receive a kiss from Jean, who clutched at her chest as the hovercraft sped off. Beast approached and put a hand on her shoulder; "They'll be alright Jean."

But Jean shook his hand away, her face contracted and dark; "Hank I think we picked a fight with something we can't handle." Again, she reached a hand out to the ocean; "He's not just angry, he's on a warpath."

"Hey Guys!" Iron Man's voice over the comms was becoming frantic, "Please tell me you're putting a plan together!"

In the waters of the bay, Iron Man turned to send two palm repulsors between Godzilla's eyes. To no effect as the titan continued to bear down on him.

"Because this guy's a lot faster than he looks!"

"We're on the way Tony!" Reed examined the holographic display projected from the Fantasticar's console, where Iron Man's beacon was barely outrunning a massive signature.

"Alright Godzilla, let's see you follow me this way."

Iron Man's thrusters propelled him upwards to the surface, Godzilla close behind. The tiny prey was fast, but Godzilla was nothing if not persistent, and the faster the Avenger went, the harder Godzilla pushed, his tail exerting enough power to run an energy plant.

Breaking through to the surface, Iron Man made no hesitation, continuing to shoot into the sky.

"Godzilla is still in pursuit sir."

"I'm aware of that JARVIS!"

After ascending several dozen meters, Iron Man turned to look down. The only thing he saw was the snarling face of Godzilla a heartbeat before he exploded out of the sea, surging straight for the Avenger.

"WHOA!"

Now in the freedom of the air, Godzilla loosed a deafening roar as his entire body raced upwards, his eyes and jaws fixated on the one who had dared strike at him. With his own attention so drawn to the giant maw filled with fangs the size of trees, Tony didn't even think to turn around. Instead, he put his hand and feet thrusters in front of him.

It was a race, Iron Man shooting upwards with his back to the sky, and a furious Godzilla only a few feet below him, jaws wide open and lungs blaring. Tony Stark could only stare at the fate that awaited him if he were just a second too slow, he ignored the warnings that flashed across his HUD.

"Sir, his roar is damaging the auditory circuits."

"I'm glad…"

Feeling the momentum spent, Godzilla snapped his jaws together, one last attempt to either catch his prey or scare it off. Iron Man narrowly escaped being mangled in the clash of teeth. Stark hung in the air, the chase at an end as he watched Godzilla crash back into the water, a threatening glower still fixed on him.

He hadn't felt it before, but now that he concentrated on it, Godzilla sensed the same odd energy coming off of the human. It was faint and non-threatening by itself, be he felt more on the shore, and the fact that they were here at all disturbed him. He imparted one last snort, turned, and moved on.

Iron Man watched Godzilla turn away and head for the shore, one of the few times he ever felt powerless to do something. Perspiration slid down his face, the images of giant teeth coming directly for _him,_ the enraged eyes of a being of such unimaginable power focused knowingly on _him_. The Avengers had come face-to-face with many fantastic things before, but perhaps no singular entity as awe-inspiring and frightening as this one. It left him at a loss.

Reed Richards and Cyclops were both still a bit slack-jawed at what they had seen. Cyclops shook his head; "I've heard of crocodiles doing something like that, but to see something so big… Is Stark alright?"

Reed's pupils were focused like a telescope, his body morphing allowed him to adjust his eyes like a camera. "Tony's fine, he just seems a bit… stunned."

The Fantasticar was now on a chicken-run with the three rows of jagged spines plowing through the water. The genius of one world against the sheer brute force of another.

"Swing in low," Cyclops shouted; "I'll take a shot at him, see if we can't slow him down."

"Got it."

The craft swerved down at an angle, Cyclops prepared himself for perhaps the most daring optic blast of his life. Reed glanced back, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh, you might wanna just take the visor off for this one."

Cyclops thought for a moment, then nodded, placing his hand beside the band that kept the visor affixed to his head.

"Get ready!" Reed yelled back.

The Fantasticar banked hard just above where Godzilla's head would be, and Cyclops tore off the protective visor. A ruby cannon tore through the air and obliterated the water below in an instant.

Godzilla's spines stopped dead in their tracks, a muffled squawk of surprise echoing up to the surface as his head was suddenly forced downwards. Cyclops closed his eyes and replaced the visor.

Reed gave his companion a surprised glance; "Hmm, maybe we should have led with you."

A humming sound filled the air as Godzilla spines began to glow with an luminous blue light and evaporated the water around them.

"Move it Reed! He's taking his turn!"

Just as the Fantasticar jettisoned away, Godzilla lifted his head out of the water, his face twisted with fury, and loosed his atomic retaliation. Reed and Cyclops narrowly avoided being engulfed in the blue torrent, nearly tossed from their seats in the process.

"I'm starting to think this was all a bad idea Reed!"

Godzilla refocused, tracking the craft as it fled. Atomic fire flared in the back of his throat, but just before he could send it out, another beam struck just below his right eye. Iron Man's Uni-beam poured itself out, though not doing much more than irritating it's target. Godzilla barked in response.

"I should have brought Banner, or Thor, or an army!"

Godzilla's massive hand flew upwards, Iron Man managing to slip between the fingers, but was sent tumbling from the wind.

"WHA-WHOA!"

His floundering was brought to a sudden halt when he found himself cradled in a strange hammock.

The Fantasticar hovered in place, Reed Richards' arm formed into a safety net where Iron Man warily got his bearings.

"You alright Tony?" Mr. Fantastic called out, the face of the unflappable scientist contorted with worry.

Iron Man's faceplate opened, exhaustion and a cold sweat robbing him of his normal charm.

"I think I'm gonna hurl in your hand."

"GET DOWN!" screamed Cyclops, pointing beyond his allies.

Coming down behind Iron Man, Godzilla's hand was met and stopped by Cyclops' ruby beam. The two forces strained against each-other for a few moments, until Reed maneuvered the craft away. Godzilla snorted in frustration, whatever these beings were, wherever they were from, they were stalling him. He waited until the small vehicle circled around again, and another blast of the red energy struck him across his brow.

Iron Man recovered his nerve and took to powered flight, staying alongside the Fantasticar.

"I don't know what this guy is made of but he-"

Both Iron Man and the Fantasticar were swatted out of the air by the tip of Godzilla's tail.

Cyclops found himself pinned down into his seat by a blanket of flesh extending from Reed's back, though he felt relief by the security, the fact that he was covered by another man's flesh did creep him out a little.

The Fantasticar slammed to a halt, a surprised Richards hesitating to make any adjustments. Underneath, Iron Man held the vehicle like Atlas only feet above the waves.

"Everybody alive up there?"

The blob of flesh covering Cyclops snapped back into place as part of Reed's back. "More or less…"

"Thanks for the save Tony," Reed said with a voice that all but admitted defeat; "But I'm afraid the situation is only going to get worse from here."

Unimpeded, Godzilla headed for the shore, a roar booming into the air.

Cyclops shook his head, "After all that, he can just walk it off."

Data windows in Iron Man's HUD flashed several warnings, indicating the soaring thermal readings coming off the King of the Monsters; "Yeah, he's all warmed-up now."

 **MANHATTAN**

"Come on, just take my hand…"

Even with her car pinned down under the slab of concrete, the middle-aged woman was a bit nervous to take the hand of a girl who had just floated through the rubble. But take it she did. Kitty pulled the woman out into the open, into the streets where others fled past.

"Can you make it on your own?" she asked as the lady reacted to moving through solid matter with hesitant apprehension.

The woman fixed her with a mixture of curiosity and gratitude: "Yes. Thank you."

Kitty gave her a curt smile, then hurried along to find another in need of help. She paused atop a mound of building debris, seeing police and other civilians on the same mission as her. She also spied the blind Mr. Murdock carrying a young girl and handing her to woman. The sudden loud crash of destruction and gunfire turned her to the west, where the roar of one of Mole-Man's monsters thundered in response.

"SORRY I'M LATE EVERYONE!"

Directly over head, Spider-Man swung past her, throwing another web line as he coasted in-between buildings. Kitty's face was spilt by smile upon seeing the famous local; "GO GET'EM SPIDEY!"

Guiding himself towards the sound of danger, Spider-Man exhaled audibly; "Alright Spidey, you got the crowd behind you, the cool entrance, now all you gotta do is defeat the giant monsters tearing Manhattan apart. Easy. Just keep 'em busy until the Avengers or the Fantastic Four show up. Nothing…"

Perching on the side of an apartment building, Spider-Man took a moment to observe the situation.

"..to it… Oy. So we got one giant purple minotaur, odd but effective. And we got a green, golem'y lookin' thing. Yeesh! And I thought a lack of sunlight just made you pale!"

Megataur hurled a handful of concrete rubble down to where several police officers were vainly firing their guns at it, they yelped and scattered as the car they were using for cover was crushed by building material.

"Plenty of protein though. Well, giddy-up cowboy!"

Throwing out a line, Spider-Man swung himself down among Megataur's feet, dodging one pulverizing stomp after another.

"Here goes nuthin'!"

After winding-up like a baseball pitcher, Spider-Man leveled a haymaker punch into Megataur's left ankle. The beast cried out in surprise from the sudden pain, and reached down with it's right hand to feel the sore spot. Hiding behind the other leg, Spider-Man waited until the monster's hand was touching the ankle, then launched a barrage of webbing, adhering the two limbs together.

Megataur grunted, trying to yank himself free. Meanwhile, Spider-Man zipped-up to an opposing building, and with both hands cast another wide wave of web over it's back.

"Let's take a tumble! _Hhrrnnhh_!"

With one mighty pull, the monster was rolled over its shoulder and onto its back. Megataur snorted and fumed, trying to free itself.

"ya know, you're lucky I left my giant branding-iron at home this morning!"

When Megataur tried to claw at the webbing around his ankle, another volley of the sticky stuff pinned that hand as well.

Spider-Man watched the beast writhe and struggle from his vantage point hanging on the side of a building.

"Now that the rodeo's over, I gotta find out where that big green goomba got off-"

His Spider-sense shimmered, and he leapt away from his spot just as huge claws slammed into the structure, and tore gashes out of it. Spider-Man landed on the ground and looked-up to see Giganto glaring down at him, his gaping toothless maw hanging open in a silent bellow. In his shadow, Mole-Man lumbered along, sneering at the hero.

"Is this the best that New York can muster? A child in a costume?"

"Ya know," Spider-Man began, pointing an accusatory finger at the stooped villain; "If you weren't a fat, balding dwarf, that might hurt my feelings. But then again, I'm sure the gout will take care of you, while I topple the goulie green giant."

A loud snapping sound caused Spider-Man to flinch, as Megataur finally burst free of the webbing.

Mole-Man grit his teeth and clenched the head of his cane; "Get after him Giganto! Squash him like a bug!"

The subterranean malformation roared as he stalked forward, the rising Megataur at his side.

Spider-Man sighed and let his shoulders drop, the hope for a clean and more importantly, short battle now gone; "I knew I should have brought the industrial webbing out today."

 **TOKYO BAY**

Godzilla roared as he neared the shore. He could see the strange array that sometimes awaited him whenever he came ashore. The roar was as much a warning as it was an announcement, giving the humans one last chance to get out of his way. The familiar sound of missiles launching caused Godzilla to grimace.

 _The humans and their stinging weapons. Why do they bother?_

Jean hugged her shoulders close as dozens of missiles streaked over their heads. A mix of Full Metals and conventional explosive warheads, as well as manned Maser tanks for when Godzilla closed the distance.

Susan Richards watched the projectiles slam into the ever-growing Godzilla, where they exploded into plumes of smoke and fire. The beast roared in retaliation, his forward motion not slowed the slightest bit.

Her brother and Thing stood by her side, but she thought only of her husband, who had gone out to give Iron Man some support. Now their comm-links weren't getting through, and it seemed that Godzilla had left three of the most capable men she knew floundering in his wake. The monster's ominous bellow echoed across the water, it's arrival inevitable and imminent.

Johnny exhaled through his nose, his frustration at it's limit. "I'm gonna go sneak around his back, try to find out what happened to them."

Susan turned sharply, locking a stare of concern onto her brother. Already her husband and two others had gone out to face the dragon and not returned, would her brother join them?

"I don't think that's a good idea Johnny." She pleaded, a tear welling up in her eyes softened his usual bravado, and he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me, I'll give him a wide berth, stay real quite."

Thing stepped to his side, "Just watch out for the water hot head."

Johnny looked out as another salvo of missiles disappeared in a cloud of flame against Godzilla's skin.

"For a guy covered in fire, I think the water is actually the least of my problems out there."

He took a running start towards the edge of the dock before yelling: "FLAME ON!". Engulfed in is own conflagration, he soared off on a course to go wide left around Godzilla.

Beast had watched the young man take off, figuring the reason why in his own mind. Then he glanced over to Jean, who seemed to shiver despite the warmth of the day.

"Jean, can you tell if they're still safe out there?"

Jean closed her eyes, the sound of several explosions and a savage growl causing her to flinch. She grimaced and shook her head.

"No, I can't. I… I can't focus."

"I know it's distressing with Scott still out there-"

"It's not just that Henry, it's Godzilla's mind, it's so forceful I can barely get around it."

She opened her eyes, a tremble of fear shaking her body.

"If I was as strong as the professor, I'd be able to reach them, but-"

"The Professor isn't here Jean, and you are strong enough to do this."

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

Around them, the soldiers and spent missile batteries began withdrawing. The Maser tanks took aim, preparing for the order to fire. Godzilla was now only a short distance away from the waterfront, the waves he pushed out splashing up into the air as they rocked against the docks.

Admiral Tiazo approached Beast, laying a hand on his arm but never taking his gaze away from the looming danger.

"Dr. McCoy, I suggest that you and your friends fall back to safety. I won't give the Maser units permission to fire until you're clear."

"I appreciate the concern Admiral, but this is where we have to make a stand."

Beast looked back and locked eyes with the admiral. "Trust me, this is what we do."

Out over the water, Johnny Storm intercepted the Fantasticar being pushed along by Iron Man.

"What happened to you guys! We couldn't reach you over the radio."

"The radiological proximity to Godzilla must've overloaded the receivers." Explained Richards.

"Besides, he kinda walloped us." Stark finished for him.

Johnny's face dropped; "Well I hope you've got a plan B after your Penatrators bombed, because he's about to hit land."

"Have the others gotten away?" An agitated Cyclops asked.

"No, I think they're making a goal-line stand."

Reed pursed his lips, "Then they won't be standing for long."

 _Here they are, the cause of the disturbance._

Godzilla loomed over the waterfront, the group of humans clutched together before him.

 _Humans have never felt like this before, why would these ones be different?_

Godzilla crouched down, trying to get a better look at the strange creatures.

Susan put her hands out to keep her comrades in place; "No sudden moves anyone, we don't want to startle him."

"I don't think that's an issue after all the bombs and missiles." Her rock-faced friend remarked.

His snout leveled out, and Godzilla took a long sniff, nearly pulling Jean off her feet if not for Beast holding her. A slight grunt followed.

"Jean, if you're going to reach out to him, now's the time."

Nervously, Jean took a few steps forward, just as Godzilla turned his head and gazed down at them all with his right eye. She raised her hands, looking upwards into his searching eye as it appraised the tiny being. Slowly, she got closer, and shut her eyes, psychically feeling out for a way into his mind. She pulsed out pleasant emotions, pleasure, comfort, friendliness in an attempt to prime him for contact, a method she had used on wild animals before.

Godzilla seemed to react curiously, taking a short breath, a mumble of what could have been confusion escaping his lips. Finally, she laid hands on his face, just under his eye, which looked down at the red-haired human.

" _I am not your enemy, and we are not a threat to you."_

Suddenly Godzilla shot up to his full height, his eyes wide open in a stark reaction to having his mind touched. Susan and Beast rushed forward to huddle around Jean, as she herself gazed upwards with a similar expression.

Jean wobbled on her legs, "I don't think that's ever happened to him before. I think I spooked him."

Thing's eyebrows danced after hearing that; "Eh, good spooked or bad spooked?"

"We're here with you Jean, stay strong." The Invisible Woman assured her.

Jean reached her hands out again, trying to touch his mind. This time, he was ready. She felt their minds mingle, hers like a puff of smoke engulfed into a thunderstorm, the surreal mind of a primordial being. She felt a memory near her, just beyond the veil, so she reached out to touch it.

In an instant she was overwhelmed by flashes of pain, fire, screaming and a falling sensation. The face of a terrifying monster with sickly yellow eyes, and a choking grip around her throat. On the outside she began to wail, her face tightening into a mask of torment, her legs shaking. Pangs of confusion, fear, rage, and vicious determination flooded into her, causing her head to whip back, as she cried out.

"SO MUCH PAIN!" Jean wailed, her body levitating, her eyes glowing with a fiery power; "SO MUCH ANGER! He thinks we're an invasive threat!"

She fell back into Beast's arms, mumbling softly.

"It must have been too much for her!" Beast said, cradling her.

Susan took a defensive stance in front of her friends, ready to throw-up a shield just in case.

Godzilla snapped back into his own mind, the feelings he had shared with Jean jarring him out of his comfort zone, and into a rage.

 _Foreign, strange creatures! They do not belong here!_

His dorsal spines surged with atomic power as the fire collected in the back of his throat. An audible sucking sound could be heard as they prepared to face his wrath.

But it would be a wrath delayed as a crimson beam slammed into his jaw, knocking his whole head aside. A feral scream of frustration boomed out, Godzilla trying to shield himself from the unrelenting blast. from the other side, Iron Man's Unibeam struck, and pinned the monster's head in between.

Johnny Storm landed near the group on the dock, rushing over in exhaustion.

"Well looks like we screwed this one up! Who would have guessed. Come on, we gotta get out of here! Tony, Reed, and Scott will distract him long enough for us to bail."

Beast clutched Jean in his arms and began carrying her away, but stopped when he realized that Thing and Sue weren't moving.

"Get her out of here Henry!" She yelled back, "We're not leaving them to fight Godzilla alone!"

Beast nodded and jumped into a nearby jeep.

When the blast attacks finally ended, Godzilla shook his head, and loosed a mad roar, taking a step onto the land.

"Aw hell… FLAME ON!" Soaring up, Johnny fired a torrent of flame that bathed the back of the titan's head. To little reaction.

"Oh come ooooon!"

Flying by, Iron Man stopped next to him, "Follow me kid!"

The two fliers came down beside where the Fantasticar had landed on the dock near Thing and Susan.

"We have to stop him here!" Reed yelled, jumping out of the hover-craft; "Hit him with everything you got! NOW!"

In one moment, Cyclops removed his ruby visor, Iron Man pumped almost every ounce of power into his chest unit, Johnny Storm created the largest torrent of fire he had ever made, and Susan pushed out a force-field with all her might. The powers struck Godzilla simultaneously, and halted him as his foot was raised to take the next step onto land.

He had been hit hard before, much harder than this. But the fact that it was coming from humans, alien as they were, surprised him. Perhaps he had been too soft on the humans before, it seemed they needed to be put in their place.

The other foot came down so hard the defenders were rocked off their feet. A roar of triumph sending home just how paltry their attack was. Reed and Thing stumbled, keeping a worried eye on the others.

"Ben you've got to throw me at him!"

"Stretch I think you got yer' brain rattled!"

"I'm serious! If he hits us with his radioactive breath, we're all dead!"

Thing huffed and fixed him with a look of begrudging disbelief, "Your da rocket scientist!"

Thing grabbed Reed's legs, and whipping him around like a sling-shot, flung him up towards Godzilla's neck.

The blue fire was again roiling in his throat when Mr. Fantastic landed, and began to stretch himself. Not once, twice, not thrice, but four times did Reed coil himself around Godzilla's neck, constricting hard to prevent the breath from escaping.

The rest of them watched in awe as Godzilla clawed at the strangulation, his mighty roar reduced to a gurgle. Susan gawked at her husband, a trickle of blood running from her nose.

"He's doing it!" Stark announced with hope in his voice.

The blue fire died in his throat, and the attempts to pry the elastic coil off infuriated Godzilla. But he had another trick yet.

His dorsal spines flared and atomic energy was concentrated in his core. Then in a flash, it was expended outwards, from every inch of his body the Nuclear Pulse surged in all directions.

The defenders were thrown back several yards, only Thing was left standing. Reed Richards' body contracted and fell flaccidly to the ground, where it flattened like a cartoon. None of them noticed that the Fantasticar had been crashed by the power surge, and now lay on it's side, with a compartment opened. The Maser tanks sparked and fumed from internal damage, their crews fleeing the possibility of their power cores exploding.

Iron Man held his head as he recovered.

"anybody get the license of that… whatever it was?"

Lifting herself from the ground, Susan groaned "Some kind of energy pulse, like an… ugh… EMP."

Barely able to stand herself, she glanced around to see the others not much better off.

"Where's Reed?"

"I got 'em." The grumbly voice answered.

Ben Grimm was reliving his football days as he raced to where Reed's unmoving form lay splattered on the ground. Thing covered his head as a building façade collapsed to his left, falling in his direction. The window gap luckily landing around him..

Thing was nearing his fallen friend when a mountainous foot slammed down between them. Godzilla looked down at Thing, sneering at him, _daring_ him.

"Alright cha' big palooka! Let's see how you like stubbin' yer' toe!"

With all the power he could muster, Thing slugged his fist into Godzilla's phalanges. The reaction wasn't immediate, but when the signals traveled along his nervous system, and finally hit the brain lodged in his mid-section, Godzilla's eyes shot open, and a wail of pain escaped. Thing hurried around, and scooped Reed over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I bet that's like steppin' on a Lego for you!"

Godzilla fixated on Thing with a hard glare, a blinding light rising in his mouth.

"Eh, I got rocks for brains don't I?"

Thing reading himself to withstand, but fate was still in his corner when a new sound came to their rescue.

A chirping Mothra came in hard, slamming her entire body into Godzilla's back, toppling him over.

The other defenders raced over to Thing, as compelled to stand by their fallen friend as they were to marvel at the incredible sight.

Mothra barked angrily, flapping in place between the humans and Godzilla, who flailed to get back on his feet.

An astonished Cyclops gawked, "I don't remember that one from the recruitment video."

Momentarily distracted, Johnny glanced down at his chest, as if expecting something new to be there; "Guys I'm not sure if it's all the brain trauma, but I suddenly feel more… at peace."

Iron Man's HUD ran diagnostics on his heart rate and blood pressure; "Usually I'd associate that with a bottle of wine and Ms. July, but I think I'm getting the same effect."

Godzilla railed at the sucker-punch from a familiar face.

 _Why does she defend them? What does she know?!_

Mothra chirped, warning to him to keep his distance. But he would not be deterred, Godzilla charged forward, rejecting the threat from his occasional ally. Mothra swerved back to avoid a claw swipe, and retaliated with twin beams from her antennae. Tired of taking abuse from energy beams for one day, Godzilla barreled forward, nearly seizing the guarding in his grip, but she hovered higher out of his reach.

" _You must turn back, I will find out what has disturbed the Earth's energy. Return to your rest!"_ The guardian pleaded, using the rare ability to communicate directly to other Kaiju.

" _I should never have trusted you! Betrayer!"_

Godzilla loosed a torrent of atomic fire that singed Mothra's wing as she flung herself sideways to avoid the hit. Raging in his frustration, Godzilla turned on the shore-side civilization, and poured out the cup of his wrath.

The heroes gaped as whole city blocks were obliterated in a hellstorm.

Johnny covered his mouth in horrified shock, "Sue, I'm starting to think that our little adventure was a very, very bad idea."

Susan looked across at Johnny, noting the complete lack of casual joviality in his voice.

Stark hovered above them, "We should fall back, let the butterfly tire him out."

The remaining X-Man shook his head, "He's here because he could feel what we did Tony, wherever we go, he'll follow."

Mothra swooped in behind Godzilla, her wings loosing a shower of glowing flakes. Godzilla turned into them and snarled, but his fury waned.

Behind them all, a stray explosion sent a wooden beam flying into the air, and it came crashing down atop a white briefcase. The case was broken open, and the Portal Sphere was launched several yards away.

Godzilla grumbled, his anger subsiding and his interest in the disturbance almost gone. Almost. As soon as the Portal Sphere was knocked free, the sensation he felt was like a nugget of raw nuclear energy had appeared out of nowhere. Immediately his eyes locked onto the tiny object, and if the humans were a candle of the alien energy, this thing was a burning star.

 _There it is! That must be the cause!_

Even Mothra paused momentarily, drawn to the spike in the foreign power. She let Godzilla approach the device, just as curious about the thing herself.

Disturbed by the sudden change, Iron Man began searching for the object of their fascination; "What the hell are they both staring at?"

The heroes were fascinated by the sight of the two _daikaiju_ being transfixed to some obscure point. Regaining his consciousness in Thing's arms, Reed Richards held his head, "What happened?"

Iron Man's scanners located the subject of their sudden keen interest.

"it's the Portal Sphere! That's what they're looking at!"

"The Sphere was in the damn bumper-car!?" Cyclops scolded, aghast by the revelation.

"I told you…" Reed groaned, "Eh, it's designed to be portable. Plus I wanted to keep it close to us at all times just in case."

Iron Man raced over, hoping to reach it before something terrible happened, "Well then thank god it's drop tested. JARVIS, make sure the Sphere does not turn on!"

"There might be a slight problem with that Sir."

"And why would that be, JARVIS?"

"Well it seems that the trauma of being thrown about and the nuclear pulse have put the device, shall we say, on the fritz."

"Then shut it down!"

"I'm trying Sir, but it's a hardware problem!"

Green sparks jumped from the cuts in the sphere's exterior as it buzzed to life. Both Kaiju felt the flux in energy, but Mothra balked while Godzilla stayed-put. A heartbeat before Iron Man could lay his hand on it, the sphere emitted a blinding, sparking flash that knocked him back against into a fishing shack. Then a wave of green light sprouted from the device, scanning Godzilla. A curious grunt invited a worried trill from Mothra, who beat her wings in alarm.

His plan gone terribly awry, Reed made for the malfunctioning inter-dimensional doorknob, "We can't let him step through!" But it was to late.

A massive wall of swirling psychedelic colors fanned out and upwards, a doorway large enough for Godzilla to stroll through. Startled, blue fire roiled in his throat, and a blast of nuclear fire lanced into the window, to no effect. Undaunted, Godzilla stepped forward.

But he felt a tug on his tail. Behind him, Thing was holding onto the tip of his tail with both arms, and Mr. Fantastic was coiling his body around the length of the appendage, while wrapping his legs around a medium sized building. Johnny Storm flew in front of his face and loosed a funnel of fire, only to be swatted out of the sky and sent hurtling through the Portal.

At the sight his sister screamed, "JOHNNY!"

Susan joined Iron Man and Cyclops, and they positioned themselves in front of the titan, again combining their abilities to push him back. Even Mothra latched onto his spines, and tried to drag him backwards.

His irritation peaked, Godzilla decided he was done wasting his time. He flexed his tail and pulled, and the portion of the building that Richards had his legs wrapped around was wrenched free. The whiplash of Reed's body and the weight still in his grip sent the building portion crashing into the back of Mothra's head. The guardian was knocked goofy, haphazardly fluttering off to the side.

With a satisfied grumble, he took another step. With both the Unibeam and Cyclops' ruby blast spent, it was only Susan who held her translucent shield between Godzilla and her home world.

Godzilla touched the shield, letting his claws drag against it's surface. But finally he pushed his hand forward, and shattered the force field. Susan collapsed, the mental strain finally too much to bear. Cyclops seized hold of her body as Iron Man grabbed them both, thrusting them out of harm's way a second before Godzilla stepped exactly where they had stood.

Another casual swing of his tail, and Thing was flung headlong to the ground. Reed sprung himself after him, and coiling around, created a cushioned pad that took the brunt of the force when they landed. They all watched helplessly as Godzilla stepped through the portal and disappeared.

Back to her senses, Mothra raced after him, but the curtain of color contracted before she could reach it, closing her off. She fluttered in a panic, not understanding what had happened. The defenders collapsed together, exhaustion finally bringing them to their knees. Iron Man opened his face plate to reveal absolute disbelief and shock.

"Fury is gonna be sooooo mad at us."


	7. Chapter 7: Godzilla Takes Manhattan

**THE PEAK**  
 **S.W.O.R.D. HEADQUARTERS**

S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) Commander Abigail Brand was very displeased. She gazed out of the huge window, down at the curvature of the Earth. A sneer slid just underneath her pursed lips, her eyes hidden behind ever-present green sunglasses. The command center around her bustled with activity, agents rushing between stations, not just as part of their normal monitoring duties, but also due to the strange phenomena that had popped-up in the last 24 hours.

" _Today is not going as I planned_."

First the asteroid that appeared out of the damn blue, on a collision course with Earth. And then the sudden temporal anomaly over China, gone as soon as it started without leaving a trace.  
"Cecilia, what's going on at the China site?"

The young dark-skinned woman looked up from her monitoring station, taken by surprise.  
"Ah… yes Ma'am! Satellite confirms…"

Cecilia entered a few commands into her console, and a holographic projection emerged from the transmitter on top of her computer. The image showed a large gash in the ground between forest covered mountains.  
"Something came out of that temporal cloud" she explained, "and crash landed in the nearby mountains. Unfortunately, whatever it was, was gone within moments."  
Cecilia looked up to her boss, awaiting some kind of approval. Abigail remained impassive behind the shades.  
"How long have you been stationed here, two months?" The commander asked.  
Cecilia thought nervously for a moment, "Yes Ma'am, just about."

Director Brand strode away, back to the window.  
"I'll tell ya, an agent really makes her bones on a day like this. Think you can keep it together if the S#!* hit's the fan?"  
The Director's bluntness caught the young agent off guard, and her eyes widened in awkward discomfort.  
"Y-Yes Ma'am."  
"Good."

The door to the command deck opened, and in rushed a young male crewman, who hurriedly saluted Abigail.  
"Commander Brand, something's happened to Sydren!"  
"Show me!"

The pair rushed down a hallway, on course to Sydren's living quarters.  
"Tell me what happened Agent Connors!" She yelled as they rounded a corner.  
"I'm assigned to his detail, and he was just enjoying his lunch when he started to say something about a psychic presence coming from the asteroid that's heading for Wakanda. He tried to reach out to it, but then he started to convulse and fell to the ground, he's catatonic!"

Reaching the doorway to Sydren's room, she looked down to see the pink biped on his back, his arms sticking up, his entire body twitching subtly. Foam trickled out from the corner of his mouth, his eyes wide open in stark shock. The two other agents in the room looked to her with worry and fear.  
"Is medical on their way?" Abigail demanded.  
"They should be, we called." replied an alarmed agent.

Commander Brand knelt down by Sydren's side, and took his hand in her own. "What's going on with you, buddy? What happened?"

In a flash, Sydren was sitting up, his breathing turned rapid and short. Staring straight forward as if he were fixated on an object before him, his pupils were dilated.  
"Fire! Destruction and lightning!" he growled in his raspy voice "It's horrible cackle… the screams of the dead and dying…"

Abigail gripped him by the shoulders, trying to get him to look at her.  
"what are you talking about Sydren! What's it got to do with the asteroid?"  
Sydren fixed her with a vacant stare; seeing her, but looking far past.  
"I reached out to the entity inside, and that was what I saw. That is what awaits us all, the world on fire, the planet covered in ash."

Sydren finally met Abigail's eyes, seeing his own reflection in her lenses.  
"We cannot allow that asteroid to reach Earth."

 **NEW YORK CITY**  
 **MOMENTS AGO**

With all the chaos being wrought by the Mole-Man's behemoths, most people could be excused from noticing the expansion of a huge multi-colored wall, and the relatively small object that came hurtling out of it. But those workers along the dockside who had not already fled for home, or were in the process of trying to secure the area were dumbstruck as the Portal curtain stretched hundreds of feet into the air.  
Johnny Storm was still being thrown backwards when he crashed into the salt water. A few moments later he emerged, spitting up the brine and frantically trying to gain his bearings and stay afloat. He looked around to see the familiar skyline of his home town.  
" _Ohhhh man_ , What hit me?"

Taking a step into a different world, Godzilla came through the portal, crushing a dock and several small boats underfoot. He loosed a roar of announcement and took in his new surroundings as the doorway closed behind him.  
Johnny Storm could only gape in shock. "Oh yeah… he did."

Godzilla turned his head towards the heart of the city, sensing something.

 _There is a battle nearby…_

The streets of Manhattan were systematically being turned into rubble. Though for his part, Spider-Man was successfully distracting the brute monsters from doing worse.  
Dodging a chuck of concrete thrown his way, the wall-crawler settled for a moment to catch his breath.  
"Oh yeah, just keep 'em busy until the big guns show up. Figures Moley picks the one day they're all apparently on vacation!"

Giganto and Megataur, having lost sight of Spider-Man, decide to simply eviscerate the nearest building.  
Mole-Man stood behind them, scanning for any sign of the hero, "Don't worry Spider-Man! We'll find you a new home after we take this one, though it'll be about 60 feet under."

"We survived Bloomberg, I think we'll survive you!"

Much to Mole-Man's sudden surprise, Spider-Man came swinging down towards him, and put both his feet into the subterranean tyrant's prodigious belly. After tumbling end-over-end halfway down the street, Mole-Man rolled onto his back, groaning from the several new sore spots besides his swollen joints. Standing over him, Spider-Man merely shook his head.  
"You should have stayed where the sun don't shine, and ya know, washed yourself or, something."

Mole-Man struggled to his feet, only to be pinned back down by a net of webbing. He spit and fumed.  
"You won't be so smug forever! One day the sun-walkers will be overthrown! And brought down to my level!"

A smaller glob of webbing stuck to Mole-Man's face, silencing all but angry muffles. "Unless you invent a shrink ray, I don't see that happening."

It was now, that Spider-Man noticed the fact that he was standing in an immense shadow. He turned around to see both Giganto and Megataur looming over him. Putting his hands on his hips, he scolded the twin giants.  
"Now what am I going to do with you two?"

Giganto raised an arm, ready to bring it crushing down. Spider-Man readied himself to jump, when his Spidey-sense hit him like a freight-train.  
"Yeah! I know! I see him!"

Giganto tensed for the strike, but a series of bullets strafed across his shoulders, deriving a wail of pain from the green monster. Megataur looked to see where the attack had come from and received an arrow between the eyes that exploded upon impact. The blow caused the Minotaur to reel and stumble back into Giganto, sending them both haphazardly into the street.  
Standing atop an adjacent building, Hawkeye drew string with another arrow, a Quinjet buzzing past him.  
"I tell ya Cap, It's never boring in this city. Makes me glad I moved upstate."

In the pilot seat of the Quinjet, Captain America rolled his eyes.  
"Is this really the time for quips Clint?"  
"What do you mean? It's my thing!"

The arrow loosed and burst to become a cloud of smoke around Giganto's eyes, the stinging, burning fumes vainly clawed at by the creature.

"At least you're not as bad as Wolverine." Cap mused.

Spider-Man swung up to Hawkeye's position, and unceremoniously dumped Mole-Man on the roof, marveling at the Quinjet as it passed overhead to deliver another salvo of fire at the monsters. More SHIELD air-assault craft now joining the battle, pouring their own ammunition down.  
"Man am I glad you guys finally showed up! So where's Iron Man or Thor?" Spider-Man asked energetically.  
Hawkeye gave him an apologetic glance, "Sorry kid, just me and Cap today."

Hesitant to respond, Spider-Man let the words hang for a moment.  
"Really? I mean.. great! I was just kinda expecting Iron Man or Thor, or Hulk, ya know, 'cause… giant monsters?"  
"don't know what to tell ya," Another arrow strung, and loosed. "Iron Man is off on another mission, Banner is trying to be retired, and Thor actually hasn't been around for a while."  
"huh…" Spider-Man sighed, putting a hand on his chin. "Well, between the three of us, we can probably-"

A new roar echoed through the city, distinct and much more powerful. Every one paused, even Megataur and Giganto seemed to be on alert.

Hawkeye dropped his bow to a low-ready, trying to make sense of this new sound. "Could that be another one of Mole-Man's creatures?"  
"I don't think so, that sounded like it came from the waterfront."

"Clint, stay here and keep an eye on things." Cap said over the comms. "I'm gonna go see what the hell that was."  
"Roger Cap."

Hawkeye let his hand come away from his ear-piece, displeasure creasing his features. He jabbed an elbow into Spider-Man's side, "Get it, 'Roger Cap'?"  
The mask over the young hero's face denied Barton the reaction he was hoping for as the wall-crawler shook his head. So Hawkeye exhaled, bringing his bow back up to focus.  
" _Sure Clint_ ," He thought. " _you stay here and baby-sit the huge freakin' monsters!_ "

Giganto raged against the onslaught of several SHIELD craft, his claws causing a few to totter and nearly spin into buildings. The jade goliath locked eyes on the archer Avenger, hatred contorting it's already grotesque features. Hawkeye notched a new arrow as the car sized claw was raised. Neither of which got their chance to strike.  
A furious torrent of blue fire slammed into Giganto, lifted him off his feet, and crushing into a building.

"Captain America to all SHIELD agents! Evacuate the area now! We've got a new monster incoming! A BIG ONE!"

Hawkeye and Spider-Man looked to one another stunned. Then Spider-Man leaned over Mole-Man, jerking him into a sitting position.  
"Tell me that's one of yours?"  
Mole Man shook his head vigorously, and was released to slump back down.

Clint held his bow and arrow to his face, searching for a target "Me and SHIELD will work on clearing the area, get dumpy out of here."  
"What about those two?"

Hawkeye glance to where Spider-Man was pointing a thumb, Megataur was standing beside the thrashed Giganto, guarding warily against the coming threat. A thunderous impact rattled the building the heroes stood on, another fearsome roar, this time much closer.  
"I'm guessing they're about to have their own serious problem. If there's anything giant monster love to do, it's fight."  
Hawkeye took a running start and leapt from one rooftop to another.

Spider-Man watched him go, "I bet he learned that in Avenger school."  
Scooping up the enwrapped Mole-Man, Spider-Man shot a web-line in the direction of the nearest police precinct.

Megataur staggered back, finally catching sight of the one who decked Giganto in one blow. Two eyes with iris' the color of a fiery explosion looked down at the minotaur, somewhat disappointed at the measly offering of an opponent.  
Circling around in the Quinjet, Captain America reeled to take in the sheer size of this new monster.  
"Watch yourselves everyone, this new player might not like the smaller ones, but we don't know what he's got planned for after."

Godzilla's bulk rumbled through the city streets, steam rising from his dorsal plates as they cooled from the infusion of nuclear power. A hearty roar shattered the closest windows as he made his way into the combat zone.  
Spider-Man clung to a stucco façade as a shadow passed over him. With Mole-Man slung over his shoulder, he watched as a mammoth thigh lumbered past him.  
"Whoa… I bet it's the bones that make him look big."

Circling in the air, Captain America looked down to Godzilla, trying to comprise a strategy on how to defeat such a monster without astronomical collateral damage. A holographic window popped up from the control panel, occupying half of the windshield. The infuriated and flabbergasted face of Nick Fury staring out, his one good eye twitching.

"Rogers! What the HELL is stompin' through the city!? Some kinda portal opens up at the waterfront and then this thing come out!"

The mention of a portal snaps Captain America's mind around, _Godzilla_. The monster from the other world. _Something must have gone wrong_  
"A full explanation will have to wait Nick, but I've seen this monster before. It's called Godzilla, and I am telling you right now you do not have the firepower to take him on!"  
"What do you suggest then?" Fury asked sarcastically.  
"I think he was drawn in by the fighting, if we leave him alone he might wonder off."  
"And just let him flatten downtown? Not an option. The Helicarrier is on the way in."  
"NO Fury-!"

He slammed his fist against the consol as the holographic image went out, and Steve Rogers knew the destruction of New York City hung in the balance.

Megataur warily stepped back, forgetting his fallen comrade, more concerned with the fanged titan fixated on him. Feeling disappointed at such a small opponent, Godzilla let his attention wonder, turning his back on the lavender creature.  
If the intimidation wasn't unsettling enough for Megataur, the disregard was worse. To Megataur the idea of being dismissed as unworthy, set his teeth to grind. The minotaur saw red watching Godzilla ignore him, and enraged, charged forward and grabbed a hold of the tail that moved carelessly, mocking him.  
Godzilla was startled by the tug on his tail, and glanced back to see Megataur trying with both hands to pull. An unamused Gojira grunted, and with a swing of his tail, lifted Megataur and slammed him into a building. Not quite hard enough to topple the structure, but it caused tons of debris to crash down, compounding the broken bones that Megataur suffered for the first time in its life.  
The ancient bull painfully opened its eyes just in time to see the bottom of Godzilla's foot coming down, a moment before thousands of tons of atomic muscle pressed down and crushed. Every bone in its body pulverized, it's internal organs flattened, Megataur lay motionless in the footprint. Godzilla glared down at the pathetic adversary, more upset at having to waste his time than the threat of challenge.

Helping an injured police officer from the wreckage of a damaged cruiser, Hawkeye peeked over his shoulder at the tremendous sight. This new monster had dealt with the other two as if they were nothing more than annoyances. Noticing the distraction, the middle-aged cop matched his line of sight.  
"I sure do hope your super-buddies are on their way."

"Yeah… me too."

Giganto mewled weakly as it pried itself free from the vertical crater, it's torso still charred from the nuclear strike.

Godzilla turned his attention away, content that no further problems would arise, when a shower of gunfire from a squadron of S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter jets peppered his hide. His lips curled back in irritation, the sight of a massive air-borne warship approaching from the east deriving a growl.

 _Man and their machines…_

On the command deck of the Helicarrier, Nick Fury watched from his position betwixt monitors and controls as the monster turned to meet his floating fortress. His own sneer matching Godzilla's.  
"Go around again, you've got to try and move him out of the city before we can fire the big guns."

The jets made another pass, raining down with their weapons. A wash of nuclear fire erupted from Godzilla's maw, chasing the squadron through the sky. Not concerned to avoid hitting the wrong target, the top quarter of a skyscraper was obliterated into shards and cinders in his pursuit.

" _This is going to get Manhattan razed!_ " Cap thought, " _I've got to lure him out of the city!"_

The Quinjet lowered its chain guns, and levied a barrage of its own that pinged and ricocheted between Godzilla's dorsal plates. The saurian's head turned, his teeth bared, and his pupils dilated on the star-spangled Avenger in the pilot seat.  
He didn't quite know why, but the sheen in the monster's eye's brought Captain America decades back in his memory, to a bizarre incident in the Pacific combat theater.  
 _"No, It couldn't be…"_

But a streak of blue fury clipped his wing, bringing him back to stark reality. Captain America banked away, towards the water, with a roaring Godzilla thundering after him.  
"Fury, he's coming your way!"

As Steve Rogers headed-on to lead Godzilla out, a huge green blur flew past him and collided into the flight deck of the Helicarrier. The ship and crew reeled as Giganto rolled across the deck, Nick Fury's one eye as wide as humanly possible. The beast tried to stand, but it's wobbling legs succeeded only in propelling it over the edge of the craft, where it fell into the bay. An irate SHIELD director braced himself on a railing, "THAT SUNOFABITCH!"

Godzilla snorted.

Watching the green monster plummet and splash, Cap spoke into his ear comms; "Lure him out to sea Nick, we need to find a source of radiation, that will attract him!"  
"I'm gonna overlook the fact that you know so much right now!"  
The Director of SHIELD turned to his lieutenants, "Tell the Triskelion to get Chen Lu on a Quinjet!"

 **TOKYO BAY**  
 **Minutes ago**

"We have to get back through NOW!"  
Susan Richards yelled, pushing herself away from Cyclops as they rushed over to the Portal Sphere. The device itself sparked and fizzed with green energy, the lighted crevices blinking in and out.

Iron Man was hunched over the device; "We'll have to get inside to see what the problem is."

Reed Richards stretched himself over to the fallen Fantasticar, retrieving an elongated box. "Fortunately, I also thought to bring a tool kit."

A military Jeep pulled around, Beast rushing out of the driver's seat, Jean in the seat behind, awake but holding her head. Cyclops and Beast passed each other as the X-Man came to her side.

"I saw what happened," Beast said, gazing at the spot where the portal had been opened. "I just hope nobody over there antagonizes him into attacking."  
Thing was brushing debris off his shoulders as he approached "Oh yeah, big fire-breathin' monster, he'll fly right under the radar."

The Portal Sphere unfolded before Reed like an orange, "we live in a world full of super-heroes Ben, I'm sure someone'll be able to keep the city safe."  
"So how does a world full of heroes react to something from a world full of monsters?" Beast spoke to no-one in particular.  
"Probably violently." Said Iron Man.

Above them, Mothra gazed into the space where the portal's window had faded away, low, worried chirps were her response to the sudden disappearance.

"What do you think's going on with the butterfly?" marveled Thing, watching her flutter helplessly.

Holding her arm, Susan looked up to the flying Kaiju, only now really taking in the majesty of the creature. She got the impression that it felt similarly to her, after watching Johnny being thrust back through the window. Susan could sense that the creature searched for a sign of Godzilla like she sought for Johnny.  
"It's not a butterfly… It's a moth." She corrected.  
"Whatever it is," a calmed Thing began, " it was trying to help us hold Godzilla back. I thought all these monsters were dangerous."  
"I don't doubt that it could be dangerous if it wanted, but, I don't think it's our enemy."

"… Jean… Jean…?"  
The darkness gave way to blurry colors and shapes as Jean Grey focused in on the voice. Cyclops held Jean's face, trying to rouse her.

"Scott… is that you?"  
"I'm here Jean, are you feeling alright?"  
"Oh Scott…"  
As her vision cleared, she closed her eyes again, remembering the emotions that surged through her when Godzilla opened his mind to hers. The flashes of memory, the gut-punches of rage and loneliness, and the hatred, decades of fighting man and monster alike. Her own lip curled back in a snarl.  
Scott grew worried by her silence, "What is it?"  
"I touched his mind Scott, and it was overwhelming, I've never felt something so powerful, so full of anger. It didn't want to fight us Scott, but we attacked, and he saw us just like all those who came before."

"You are correct."

Both Jean and Cyclops were startled to see a glowing moth the size of a pigeon settle down on the seat-back in front of them. Two voices, speaking in unison emanated from the tiny sprite.

"Did I take a hit to the head too?" Cyclops said, rubbing the back of his skull.  
"It's a psychic projection Scott, it's a messenger from… Mothra…"

Cyclops gave Jean an incredulous look, seeing the nerves in her face relax with the understanding washing over her. The sprite dissolved into two tiny women, surrounded in a golden nimbus.

"Your telepathy makes you much more approachable than the others." The Shobijin complimented, smiling.  
"Mothra wants to help us," Jean started, almost surprised by her own knowledge, "but she didn't want to hurt Godzilla."  
"Whatever you've done has disturbed the Earth's energy, Mothra tried to stop Godzilla from destroying it, but…"  
"But we screwed it all up." Cyclops realized.  
"How do we get him out of our world? We couldn't stop him." pleaded Jean.

The Shobijin turned to each other, trying to find the words.  
"If you can repair whatever device it was that allowed you to cross-over, Mothra is willing to go with you, and bring him back."

 **NEW YORK CITY**

The Helicarrier hovered in place just outside the confines of the city. With the clouds breaking behind it, the sunrays paned downwards, creating an awe-inspiring dichotomy between the light and the dark. Standing in the shadows of the clouds and skyscrapers, Godzilla glared at the SHIELD craft, yet another of Man's machines thrown against him.  
The fires of the battle behind him, the unequal foes he had squashed without effort, whatever this place was, it was not like his own. The energy here was like the disturbance he sensed before, the ones who attacked him, they were from this place. Godzilla grunted, unimpressed at the situation.

"All stations, standby to fire."  
In his time as Director of SHIELD, Nick Fury had seen some strange things, fantastical things, but he knew that this was going to be one of the more memorable incidents. Perhaps the massive spectacle of the Sentinel Campaign, leaving cities and populations in ruins, had made him complacent, that nothing worse could happen. Well here was worse, staring him right in the face.  
"Come on you scaly bastard, step into the light."

 **TRISKELION**

Down below, in the lower vaults of the SHIELD base, where a few of the more unique personalities were kept, a specially designed set of doors opened. Wearing hazmat suits, guards armed with weapons to immobilize but not injure, entered swiftly, time was of the essence.  
The tenant of the vault, sitting alone on his bed, turned his head to meet the gatekeepers. The ragged remains of his attire swaying gently in the weak current created by all the motion. One guard approached with grim determination.  
"Dr. Lu, you're being moved to a more secure facility."

Through the mask, they could hear his breathing. The Radioactive Man, Chen Lu, knew something was being left unsaid.  
"May I ask what the cause for concern is?"  
"Sorry, I've only been given limited information. All I know is that you are to be transported to The Cube."

Chen stood slowly, appraising the armed escort.  
"Very well."

Back on the Manhattan waterfront, Godzilla readied himself for the inevitable assault. Watching from the command deck of the Helicarrier, Nick Fury steeled his nerve to wage war on the steps of New York City.  
However, Godzilla's head swiveled northwards, and without warning, he set off in that direction.

Fury's face contorted in confusion, "Where the hell is he going?"  
An aide came to Fury's side, "Sir, Chen Lu is being escorted as we speak."  
Hearing it said out-loud, he realized at once what had happened.  
"So he caught Chen's scent already. Alert the Triskelion, they're gonna have one hell of a visitor.

Walking out onto the flight deck on the southern side of the facility, Radioactive Man and the six man escort crossed the tarmac. Centered in the formation, Chen Lu observed from the inside of his containment pod the guards and the movements of the agents around them. He could sense the unspoken tension in those around him. He could also sense the small fault in the protective seal, someone hadn't checked all the locks.  
The lead guard paused for a moment, listing to something in his earpiece. He then looked to the closest agent, with a mix of bafflement and horror. He then resumed the march with a faster pace. The change in behavior gave Chen the impression that something much bigger than a prisoner transport was going on. Feeling unnerved, Chen decided to make his move.  
The bottom of the pod burst apart, and gaining leverage, Chen pried the rest of the door open. The agents turned on him, using their weapons to fire a stream of solidifying retardant foam meant to incapacitate a thermally powered individual. But Chen used the pod to shield himself from the assault, swinging it around as a melee weapon. Three agents were knocked off their feet in the process, the others forced to take cover as blasts of radioactive energy burned into the ground around them.  
With a wave of his arm, Chen sent out an electromagnetic pulse, frying their communication devices and their weapons. The failure of his dispenser distracting him, one agent was too late to react when Chen grabbed him by the throat, throttled him, and lifted him off his feet. A second agent tried to attack from behind, but Radioactive Man merely expelled a wave of super-heated air from his back, and melted the asphalt under the man's feet. His boots stuck into the mire, and he fell screaming face first into the hot goo.  
Chen's hand finally burned through the neck of the agents protective suit, a sharp but short scream was all the man could do before his throat was melted. Casting him aside, Radioactive Man used twin blasts of green power to chase the remaining agents out of their covered positions.  
Gunfire rained down the tarmac, hitting Chen hard enough in the back to knock him skidding across the deck on his chest. The Quinjet hovered in the air, Captain America poised to fire again.  
"Fury, Chen's escaped his containment, and he's fighting the guards!"  
The comms buzzed, and a occupied sounding Fury responded. "Rogers! Get his green glowing ass on a plane and away from New York! Godzilla is almost there!"

Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Radioactive Man flipped onto his back, and shot blasts from his hands that hit the Quinjet under its left wing. As the craft spiraled out of control, the windscreen was ejected, and Captain America leaped out shield first. Landing with a roll, he came up just in time to block a double hammer-fist from Chen Lu, the impact reverberated and sent a flash of green energy panning out.

 **TOKYO BAY**

Admiral Taizo Tachibana watched to ensure his troops were securing the area, and not staring slack-jawed at Mothra. He then glanced back to where Reed Richards, Iron Man and Dr. McCoy were operating on the unfurled portal device. He felt a strange combination of relief and anxiousness. For his entire life he had wanted to see the threat of Godzilla come to an end, the long decades of a single monster holding the world hostage. But the knowledge that this other world was now his victim made him feel guilty. They had not solved the problem, they simply transferred it to someone else.  
Susan Richards sat on a chuck of concrete rubble, her hands clasped together between her knees, her knuckles white in frustration. Was Johnny hurt? Where did he land? How long until three of the most brilliant minds she knew fixed the sphere? But her family had been under the gun before. The personal vendetta held against them by Victor Von Doom, their harrowing escape from the Negative Zone and the clutches of the maniacal Annihilus. She glanced to her side where her friend Ben sat, char staining his orange rocky skin, his large thick fingers trying comically to pluck small bits of debris from in between the crevices.  
"how you feeling Ben?" she asked in an attempt to distract herself.

Thing jolted slightly, not expecting the question. He quit trying to pry a splinter of wood from his shoulder and slumped against another section of rubble. "Well, having a giant lizard treat us like yesterday's dirty laundry isn't one 'a my finer moments. But at least I still got my good looks."  
The deprecating humor was enough to break her gloom, a huff of a laugh forcing her smile into the open.

"I think we got it, JARVIS?" Iron man said with relief.  
"Functionality restored Sir, I can open the portal."  
"And none too soon."

"Guys!"  
Jean Grey and Cyclops approached the group, a small glowing light fluttering around them.  
There was an awkward tone in Scott's voice "Ah, just so you know, Mothra wants to come with."

"Mothra?"  
Reed pointed a finger over to where the Kaiju guardian kept herself afloat.  
"That thing wants to cross over with us?"  
"I appreciate the gesture…" Stark said hesitatingly. "but I don't think…"  
"She's on our side Tony" A defensive Jean stepping forward, "She wants to help stop Godzilla and bring him back."

As if hearing the conversation, Mothra chirped, her eyes flashing.

"Well, I've never been one to deny a lady what she wants…" Tony remarked.

Reed took the sphere in his hand and stretched it over to a large open space, setting it down carefully. Beast exhaled, and wiped his brow. "You all go back, I have an idea, but I need to stay here."  
"Stay here?" Cyclops objected, "Henry you can't-"  
Beast stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me on this Scott."  
Reluctantly, Cyclops nodded his head, trusting in his friends intuition. Jean rushing in to give Beast a hug. She never told him, but she enjoyed nestling her face into his soft blue fur whenever they hugged. The embrace over, Beast backed away, towards where Admiral Taizo was directing his men.  
"I'll see you all again soon enough."

Reed watched his friend take off, his mind drifting to times when they worked together.

"What's a matter stretch?" Thing asked over Reed's shoulder. "Thought going to a parallel universe to fight giant monsters was gonna be a walk in the park?"  
"I just… I didn't envision any of us staying."  
Iron Man quashed the dour air, "I'm sure he's got a great sense of direction to find his way home. JARVIS, fire it up."  
"At once Sir."

The portal sphere clicked and whirred to life, the lights moving in waves along its surface.  
"If anyone asks about our colorful new friend, I'm throwing Jean under the bus."  
Susan Richards grit her teeth, Tony's irritating wit never seemed to run dry. But she was more concerned with other things.  
"We're coming Johnny…"

 **NEW YORK**

"Here I- * _cough-gag_ * come!"

Johnny Storm pulled himself out of the water and up onto the pier, rolling himself on the wooden planks, exhausted from the swim.  
" _huff…huff_ … At least I'm… _huff_ … back."  
He rolled onto his side, and now saw the enormous path of destruction carved through Manhattan.  
"Typical, I leave for a day and the city burns down without me. Well…"  
Getting to his feet, he stretched his back, his body still aching from the glancing swipe of Godzilla's hand.  
"New York ain't gonna save itself."


	8. Chapter 8: Godzilla vs SHIELD

**TRISKELION**

"You don't understand Lu!"

Captain Rogers dodged another set of green blasts, protecting himself with his shield. But Chen Lu pressed on, determined not to be taken captive again.

"I know there's something bigger going on than just busing me around!"

"We need to get you away from the city, thousands of lives are at stake!"

Steve Rogers hurled his shield at the radioactive villain, but it was engulfed in a stream of energy, sapping away its momentum until it fell to the ground.

"How unfortunate for you!"

A renewed salvo of green blasts chased Captain America across the tarmac, the old soldier careful not to let Chen get to close to him.

"then take your own self interest into account, get on a jet and head east!"

Steve Rogers slid behind a stack of cargo crates, formulating a new plan.

"Oh I'll do just that." Chen said with a promise, "Right after I exact a little payback against the Avengers!"

Both arms shot out as Chen Lu fired massive blasts of radioactive energy, obliterating the crates and leaving a smoldering crater where they once stood. But when the smoke cleared, there was nothing there, not even a skeleton.

"What!?"

Chen clenched his fists in anger, searching left and right for his target.

"Where did you go?"

The sound of a streaking missile was his answer. At the last second he turned to his right and saw a blur of motion. He threw up his arms and loosed a torrent of concentrated radiation to halt the missile, but instead of dropping, the projectile exploded. The force of the blast was enough to lift Chen off his feet, the concussion and smoke disguising the second missile that followed right behind it. The next one hit him in the chest, and sent him hurtling across the tarmac towards the water's edge.

Sitting in the cockpit of an undamaged Quinjet, Captain Rogers watched the horizontal green figure for any sign of movement before swiftly getting out and retrieved his shield; always keeping a careful eye on his radioactive foe. Now all he needed to do was find some way to load him onto a Quinjet and fly him east. He climbed out of the craft and approached cautiously, wary that Chen could pop-up and retaliate.

A tremor struck, rattling the Triskelion. Rogers' head darted back and forth, searching for the cause. But the heat of battle gave way to a chilling realization.

"Oh no."

Rising from the water, as if he had been hiding there the whole time, Godzilla emerged over the edge of the tarmac, casting his shadow over hero and villain alike. Captain America took a reflexive step back, raising his shield as Godzilla growled at them. His eyes drifted downwards, to the prone body of Chen Lu.

 _What a strange human, they're not usually so full of energy._

A sharp roar, a warning, shot out, Godzilla asserting his claim as alpha predator, for challengers to keep their distance. The sound woke Chen Lu, and as he opened his eyes he saw Godzilla's hand blot out the sun as it moved over him.

"NO! GET AWAY!"

Chen crawled backwards, still too hurt to get back to his feet. Finally, with the palm looming over him, he thrust his arms out and fired the most powerful beams of radioactive energy he could muster, green jet thrusters. If panic weren't distorting his decision making process, and his brain not enthralled by the fight or flight response, he would have understood the magnitude of the nuclear being that towered before him.

As Godzilla's cells readily absorbed the energy, _Gojira_ enjoyed the tingling sensation, now even more intent on draining this source dry. His claws struck the tarmac, digging in and nearly crushing Chen Lu.

Only now sensing that the monster's ability to soak up energy was orders of magnitude greater than his own, sheer terror stole away Lu's courage.

"HELP ME ROGERS! HEEEELLP MEEEE!"

Godzilla's hand closed, capturing Chen Lu and a half ton of asphalt and concrete in its grip. As Godzilla raised his hand to his chest, absorbing every iota of power from the helpless villain, lacking a better idea, Captain America hurled his shield at the fingers of the beast. The iconic symbol of the Avengers bounced off, garnering absolutely no notice from Godzilla.

Rogers watched it clang on the ground, each time it spun on its rim the sound reinforced how vain their efforts to stop him had been.

Chen's hand, sticking out from the midst of the rubble, grew paler by the second, his green life-force draining away. Steve Rogers grit his teeth and hoped that after this, the monster would lose interest. His hoped were dashed however, when missile batteries unsheathed from their silos, and the drone of the Helicarrier's turbines filled the air.

Godzilla snarled, turning to face the flying fortress with the same lurking aggression he had faced a dozen battles with. Chen Lu and the tarmac debris fell into the water as the hand that held them prepared to fight man's machines yet again.

Tanks and armored vehicles spilled onto the tarmac around Captain America, taking positions and training their weapons on a target too big to miss.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no…" Cap scrambled to retrieve his shield, never taking his eyes away from the monster that was gearing up to turn the harbor into a war zone.

From his vantage point in the control deck of the Helicarrier, Nick Fury looked down at the beast who had come to challenge the might of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The dozens of agents around him, manning positions from flight control tech to data analyst, all frozen waiting for the command, preparing to engage a creature who was large enough to rip their craft out of the sky.

Godzilla focused, watching for the first sign of attack.

Captain America looked around, trying to picture the carnage and destruction that was about to erupt.

Nick Fury curled his lip back, prepared to bring to fight.

"All units aboard the Helicarrier and Triskelion," Fury said with finality, "Open fire."

In a single moment the sky went from quiet with the sun breaking through, to the battleground of some fanciful science fiction. The sound of cannons firing and high explosive munitions stormed the scene as Godzilla received heavy fire from both sides. The chaos was matched by the air-splitting roar from the behemoth, unafraid to meet them head-on.

Fights between Naval battle groups had been more peaceful than the mad clash of machine against monster, the ingenuity of Man against the fury of a primeval god. Missiles designed to sink invading ships slammed against Godzilla's hide, erupting in plumes of fire. Anti-aircraft guns aboard the Helicarrier levied enough ammunition down at the monster that would conquer most nations.

Faced with such a firestorm, Godzilla had been in enough fights to know when to get out of his opponents field of fire. The SHIELD agents in the vehicle around Captain America cheered as they watched the upper torso of Godzilla sink back down into the water, forcing the hailstorm of shells to relent. Steve Rogers however was not so easily lulled into celebration, but he had to admit, it was cathartic to see the creature take some licks of his own.

"Hmm, guess they don't have Helicarriers where you're from."

The clouds of smoke began to clear from the sky, the sun rays poking through and the sounds of the waves lapping against the edge of the artificial island could be heard. Until a long, deep moan reverberated through land, sea, and air. Everyone standing on the Triskelion froze in place, but in a moment they were all suddenly jolted.

A man screamed, and Captain Rogers turned to see an agent who had fallen from standing atop a mobile missile battery, his femur exposed where it had snapped in two. A few rushed to his aid, but they too were thrown off their feet when a second impact shuddered the facility.

Steve Rogers looked at the tarmac under his feet, the truth of what was happening dawning on him, the terrifying truth.

"EVERYONE! EVACUATE! GET OFF THE TRISKELION!"

For a third time the island of steel and concrete quaked, but this time it didn't stop. People lost their balance and smaller items toppled as the horizontal plane was inexorably thrown off kilter.

Aboard the Helicarrier, Nick Fury threw himself against the glass window, watching as one side of the Triskelion was slowly raised out of the water. People, equipment, and vehicles sliding back, and the sounds of the structural integrity of the Triskelion's main building warping.

Constructed entirely from man-made materials, the Triskelion was connected to the smaller base that anchored on the sea floor by a narrow stem, supported by a series of concrete and steel pillars. And it was no great feat for Godzilla to overcome the bonds. Underneath the surface island, he brought his shoulders to bear, his claws pressed against the base, steadily pushing to capsize the facility.

His head finally breaking the surface, Godzilla loosed a roar to compliment to his unbridled power. Captain America brought every ounce of agility into play trying to save people from being crushed by the skidding tanks. With a thunderous _CRACK_! A rift appeared mid-way up the Triskelion's main hub, the screams of those still inside and those watching it unfold, lashed out as one.

"Bring us down!" Fury commanded, Godzilla's backside becoming exposed and unprotected before his guns. "We've got to get a clear shot at that monster!"

The Helicarrier dropped altitude, just enough for their gunners to acquire targeting on Godzilla's plated back. A new salvo of fire battered the atomic titan, causing him to buckle, the tremor creating fissures in the aloft section of the island. He growled as he felt the structure beginning to crumble under its own weight, debris breaking off and tumbling down onto him.

Nick Fury saw not just the shattering island in terms of destruction or human lives lost, he also saw the start of a prolonged, massive war effort, the largest he had ever seen waged against a single entity. A dozen scenarios played-out in my mind, bringing different weapons, even people to confront the beast. Most of them he didn't envision working. But there was one….

Oblivious to the machinations of the spymaster, not that he would care anyway, Godzilla tired of this petty skirmish. Blue light raced along his dorsal plates, and nuclear fire licked his fangs. The atomic beam tore into the underside of the Triskelion, and bore through to the other side, obliterating everything and everyone in its path.

With its integrity finally shattered, the island broke apart, chunks falling to either side of Godzilla, hundreds of tons of rubble and humanity hurtling to the waters below. Turning with a savage ferocity, Godzilla sent another stream of his fire at the Helicarrier, destroying its front-left turbine engine.

The Triskelion crashed back down to horizontality, crunching the infrastructure against itself. A wash of concrete laced with rebar threatened to crush a man, already immobilized with his leg bent at an unnatural angle. The man saw his gruesome fate descending on him, and closed his eyes, not willing to look death in the face.

At the last second, Captain America rolled into a kneeling position over him, and the debris clanged against his shield. With an audible _huff_ , Steve Rogers threw the rubble aside, and grasped the man by his arm.

"Come on soldier, no sense in dying today."

The man opened his eyes, astonished by the fact that Captain America had not only saved his life, but was trying to motivate him. Helping the man to his feet, Rogers guided him to a vehicle where other wounded were being loaded.

Aboard the Helicarrier, the intense professionalism of the initial attack had given way to panic and chaos amidst the alarms and emergency lights. The entire craft listing to its left side, drifting forward despite the best efforts of the flight techs to restore control.

Nick Fury searched for solutions on his varied monitors, measuring success and failure with every rapid beat of his heart. "ALL BACK FULL! DON'T LET-"

"SIR LOOK OUT!" A female agent cried out as she wrapped her arms around a railing.

The Helicarrier came to a whip-lashing stop, groaning against the halted momentum. Thrown off his feet, Nick Fury used a control console to right himself. Looking to the window, he realized that in all the commotion he had neglected to notice the oncoming threat. Though perhaps the perception could be forgiven, their opponent being so large in the first place.

Godzilla held the Helicarrier with both hands, the turbines burning themselves out as they fought his grip. A menacing growl filled all aboard with dread, an admonishment for their foolish attempt to harm him. Nick Fury glared back at the monster, both understanding that the battle was over.

With a furious roar, Godzilla heaved the Helicarrier to his left, swinging it like a log. Those inside were pressed against the walls, their aircraft becoming a centrifuge, and each of their screams were fueled by the knowledge of how this would end.

With seconds left, Captain America began to sprint with all his worth to avoid the coming disaster, but as the shadow of the Helicarrier fell over the Triskelion, internally, he realized he wouldn't make it in time.

"SHIELDS UP!"

Reacting instinctively after years of fighting with the Avengers, Rogers raised his shield above his head, and held on for dear life. Streaking overhead in a torrent of flame, Johnny Storm grabbed hold of the iconic shield, and plucked Captain America out of harm's way.

"Got cha!"

Glancing back, Rogers was able to see the might of S.H.I.E.L.D. be broken, suffering the thoughts of all the lives about to be lost, and his inability to stop it.

With the booming crash of finality, Godzilla slammed the Helicarrier into the wreckage of the Triskelion, reducing both to a mountain of twisted steel and pulverized concrete, accented by the explosions and fires that erupted throughout.

Reaching the civilian piers, Johnny set Cap down, and together they watched the conquest of an otherworldly titan as it loomed over the remains of their defenders. Despite his cavalier reputation, even the Human Torch dropped the façade and allowed himself to feel the tragedy of the moment.

"He did all that and... and we did nothing to him."

"That's not true Johnny." Rogers responded with grim honesty. "We fed him."

Their moment of respite was not to last however, as Godzilla decided to salt the earth. Another blast of nuclear fire burst forth and immolated the already smoldering heap, ensuring that anything left unbroken was destroyed, and anyone left alive, annihilated. An earth-shaking roar served as the standard of his supremacy.

Johnny Storm put his hands on his head, stunned by the act of pure vindictiveness. Steve Rogers held his shield a little tighter, the tribulations of the people on the other side now his to share. " _Perhaps…"_ he thought to himself, " _perhaps I should have gone with the others."_

Above the wreckage, above the fire and smoke and the screams, Godzilla scowled over what he had done, what had been pushed to do. The carnage before him bringing to memory all the other vanquished foes he had left in his wake. It never seemed to end, this world was just like the other, they attack, they fall, they burn. If these endless fights were his fate, if humanity would forever be his enemy, then he would forever be their destroyer. In this world or the next.

Turning his back on the smoldering remains of SHIELD, Godzilla delved into the eastern sea. His spines cutting lower and lower until they disappeared under the surface, the water returning to deceptive tranquility.

It was at this very moment, southward at the decimated Stark Industries dockyard, a polychrome curtain bloomed into existence. Rescued by the fortuitous falling of roofing material, the device that served as the portal's anchor was housed over by corrugated metal, protected from damage. Two dimensions converged, and through the curtain came the bruised and bedraggled heroes, desperate to assess the damage.

Iron Man was the first through, ascending above the others.

"Fan out everyone, he couldn't have… gone…. far…"

Half the roof of the warehouse was missing, and as he rose higher, Iron Man could see the path of destruction that led into the city.

"Sir, I'm checking satellite and news feeds. "JARVIS chimed. "It appears Godzilla went into the city to combat a few monsters in the employ of the Mole-Man."

"Interesting, and… bizarre news, but where is he-"

"Look there!" Everyone stepped forward, gazing north to where Susan was pointing, to where the pillar of smoke was rising.

"That's got to be coming from the Triskelion." Said a perturbed Reed.

Above them, Mothra emerged from the other side, hesitating momentarily, perhaps expecting it to hurt at first. But finding that nothing harmful happened, she glided northward to the Triskelion.

Still held-up on Cyclops' shoulder, Jean watched the graceful guardian, the more profound impact of what her presence in this world meant far from the mortal's understanding.

"She's going to put the fires out." Jean whispered in a half-breath.

Cyclops gave her as best a questioning look as he could wearing his visor.

"Are you communicating with it?"

"I'm not talking with her like me and the professor do, I just kinda, _understand_ her, without words."

"So you're simpatico with a magical moth… what the hell, let's roll with it."

Banking over the flaming wreckage, tiny particles of light began to fall from her wings, blanketing the rubble as she sailed in a circle. The clouds above broke apart, and a shaft of golden light came down in the ring Mothra was creating, the heavens themselves descending in a golden cascade. Within a few moments the fires were snuffed, even the smoke dispersing into nothing. News footage on display throughout the world, watched breathlessly by millions, ran the feed from a helicopter camera as it captured a gigantic glowing sun and cross symbol over the heap that was once the backbone of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s infrastructure.

Iron Man arrived on scene just in time to see the illumination for himself.

"JARVIS, what am I seeing?"

"My sensors indicate that it's…. errrr….. magic of some kind."

"Hmm, good thing I had you analyze Mjolnir last time."

Suddenly the mystical symbol expanded outwards in a pulse, an audible _thuum_ echoed out. The wave hit Iron Man, rocking him slightly, and transcending through both armor and flesh.

"Whoa, that… that actually felt pretty good."

"Your bio-metrics show that your blood pressure has dropped, endorphins have been released in your brain, even your cholesterol levels seem to have been lowered."

"I'll ask about the mud-mask later. JARVIS, Scan for signs of life, even the faintest."

On his internal display, Tony saw dozens of red dots pop into existence.

"There appear to be 54 people still alive, some just barely."

Even as JARVIS spoke, several of the dots disappeared.

"errr… make that 49."

Mothra chirped as she headed off on her own mission eastward, having done all she could do to help the humans. Now she had to catch-up to Godzilla and keep him from doing any more harm. Though there was the faintest feeling of familiar energy that seemed odd to her. But no time for that now, she had a much bigger, angrier problem to deal with.

Iron Man was pushing a large section of steel hull aside, when a rocky orange hand appeared beside his own, helping in the labor.

"We got a lotta work to do here." With a notable tone of remorse, Thing put his own strength into the effort.

The pair hefted the rubble and cast it aside, allowing Iron Man to reach down and grab an unconscious woman wearing a jumpsuit, a member of the Helicarrier crew.

"Sir, my readings indicate that she is bathed in radioactivity, and has less than a 2% chance of regaining consciousness, she will certainly die within hours."

"We don't leave anyone buried here JARVIS, alive or dead. Ben this area is pretty heavy saturated in radioactivity, are you gonna be alright?"

Thing waved the question away; "I'll be fine, I can withstand all sorts'a crazy energy."

"Sir, first responder water craft are arriving."

"Stay here Ben, I gotta go warn them to keep a safe distance, we'll bring the casualties out to them."

"Yeah, no problem." Grimm said without looking.

Blasting away with the woman in his arms, Iron Man left Thing to continue the dig for survivors. With the brushing aside of a steel beam, a section of wall was revealed, relatively intact and unbroken. But it caused Ben Grimm's heart to tighten, for the image upon it was something that broke through even his rocky exterior.

Burned onto the surface, was the shadow of a person in an immortal pose of their final seconds. He remembered seeing pictures of these in his history books, black and white photos of the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Photos of people annihilated in a single moment, leaving only a silhouette for their loved ones to grieve.

The outline of the person Ben saw here, he couldn't tell if it was man or woman, was on their knees crawling to some point now destroyed. The figure had one hand reaching out, as if trying to rescue or merely hold the hand of someone else entombed in the rubble. Their humanity obliterated and at the same time inscribed into stone, a testament to the wrath of this alien monster. A testament to their failure to stop him, and in the process joining the leagues of those who lived in his terrible shadow.

Ben pursed his lips, his own rock-hard heart ready to split apart. He sniffled and forced his emotions back down his throat. The dead had no need of his tears, but the living had use of his arms. Pushing the possibility of more of these morbid portraits out of his mind, he got to work.

Spotting his family down below, Johnny Storm came to land between Reed and Sue, the pair still mesmerized by the sheer amount of destruction wrought in such a short period of time.

"I get the impression that Doc Doom is having a good laugh right now, Reed Richards unleashing more destruction on New York than he ever managed to."

"Johnny, if you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll drown you." His sister scowled. Stunned by the tone of his older sister's threat, Johnny left his response unspoken.

Reed Richards' face hung slack, without the application of his abilities. The magnitude of what his good-will mission had come to cost weighing down on him, he was the one responsible for this. He had allowed Godzilla to decimate New York, this was all his fault.

"There must be billions of dollars in damages, hundreds dead, many more will be poisoned by the radiation, and devastated financially."

His wife put a hand on his shoulder, "Reed you can't fill your head with-"

"With what Sue? The families who just lost their son or daughter? The people who will spend the next few weeks in a cancer ward as their bodies wither away?"

A stab of pain lanced his heart, the sheer depth of the grief and sorrow that would follow because of what he had unleashed. It was too much for a man like him to bear, and he fell to his noodley knees, a hand over his mouth in a silent sob.

Susan joined her husband on the ground, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to see a section of Helicarrier hull lose its integrity and break off. She grabbed him by the side of his face and forced him to look her in the eyes.

"This is not on your shoulders Reed, you can't predict the future, and none of us apparently could stop Godzilla, alright? A monster did this, not you."

"If I hadn't been so naïve, so convinced that I _should_ interfere. Susan, I didn't overthrow the King of the Monsters, I handed him a new kingdom."

Reed sunk his head into her shoulder, his arms stretching around her to gain as much contact as possible. Slowly, Johnny joined them on his knees, laying a hand on his brother-in-law's back.

"Drown me all you want sis, but right now I think all those people need the smartest man in the world to get off the ground and start figuring out a way to fix this."

Reed took his face out of the crevice of his wife's embrace, his eyes searching back and forth, as if a new revelation had swept over him. Finally he fixed his eyes on Johnny, suddenly awed.

"I think you're right Johnny. That was the most insightful thing I think I've ever heard you say."

Staring off into the horizon, Johnny had a realization of his own.

"I know… Godzilla must have hit me harder than I thought."

With neither of them able to able to tolerate the levels of radiation seething out of the Triskelion, Jean Grey and Cyclops kept their distance, observing the aftermath of the Kaiju's rampage from an aid station hastily erected by first responders. Jean sat on the rear bumper of what used to be someone's red sedan staring out to the sun as it peaked ever more through the breaking clouds. Behind her she heard Scott on the phone, making sure that Kitty was alright.

"…Ok, just as long as you're not injured. Yeah, ok. Just do the best you can and we'll meet you at your hotel room later on…"

With the desolation heaped by the ton before her, it was hard not to be angry, even vengeful at the creature responsible. But there was that part of her, the part that had touched its mind and felt the intensity of its emotions, that stopped her from hating him. All the rage, all the resentment towards humanity, the years of being at war. It was this part of her mind that could understand why he would lash out, why he would vent his fury. She felt a pang of guilt, her face shooting downwards, guilt at having an ounce of sympathy for Godzilla, after he killed, murdered, hundreds. But still, it's not like human's hadn't spent decades doing everything they could to hunt him down and destroy him. _If an X-Man couldn't relate to that, who could?_ she thought.

" _Who indeed."_

She heard a familiar voice speak in to her mind, a smile crossed her lips.

" _Professor, I assume you know what came of our noble mission?"_

Sitting within the spherical structure known as Cerebro, Charles Xavier sat with steepled hands, using the machine to amplify his telepathy in order to reach out to his protégé.

" _Unfortunately yes. I attempted to reach out to the creature's mind, but even using Cerebro, I was not strong enough to break through. Though I did get a rather pleasant feeling from Mothra."_

Jean smirked, _"Yeah, one the destroyer, the other a healer."_

" _Jean, where is Beast?"_ The Professor asked, his voice concerned; _"I can't sense him."_

Jean thought back to her mentor Henry McCoy opting to stay behind in the other world, for some plan he deemed worthy enough.

" _I see."_ Xavier thought curtly, _"Well I hope whatever he's counting on comes through. It may be just what we need to save our world from whatever comes of Godzilla's excursion."_

Jean shut her eyes, optimistic but unconvinced. "Hopefully, this will be the worst of it."

 **CHINA**

 **MOUNTAINS WEST OF BEJING**

 **HOURS LATER**

"That way, a little further."

Alerted to the temporal anomaly over their skies by the Americans, the Chinese military took a keen interest in tracking down whatever had entered their country. After dozens of civil and military officials had been fired or worse for failing to detect the breach in security, the army had organized a scouting party. Several up-armored personnel carriers sped through the mountain roads, coating the roadside trees and each other in dust. Sitting in the jeep that led the convoy, a grim featured Colonel kept his eyes to the forest, watching for any sign of the intruder. His driver concentrating on not flying off a sharp turn at the hurried speed they traveled in the dark.

{Translated from Chinese]

"Our last reports say the entity was sighted in this valley, keep your eyes peeled for anything strange."

"Yes Sir." The driver answered crisply.

The moon was not visible tonight, leaving only the vehicles' headlights to cut through the darkness by themselves. The lead driver doing his best to manage the road hazards at the speed his commander ordered.

"Sir, is there still no description of what we're looking for?"

"No, whatever it is, it keeps disappearing and reappearing. But it is reported to be large, very large."

His attention back on the road, the driver was doubtful they could find a building going as fast as they were in the dark forest.

But for just a moment, the driver could swear he saw a flash in the depths of the forest, something metallic reflecting the light from the vehicles.

"Look out!" The colonel yelled, clutching the jeeps body frame.

Snapping his focus back to the road, the driver saw there was a fallen tree across the path. He slammed his foot on the break, the vehicle skidding to a halt just feet from the obstacle. Both passengers braced themselves for the impact of the first personnel carrier to rear-end them after the unexpected stop, but it never came. The convoy came to a standstill, each armed troop inside the vehicles in a heightened state of alertness, the only sound being the idling of the engines.

The driver stared unblinking, still processing how close they had come to crashing. The Colonel grunted, far more adept, and produced a flashlight from beside his seat. Getting out of the jeep, he cast his light left and right, and settled on the base of the overturned tree. On the right side of the road its roots were exposed, some force had ripped the plant out of the earth. Concentrating harder, he could see that the dirt still held in the winding limbs of the roots was dark, fresh. Grasping a hand-held radio from his belt, he knew he was closing in on this mysterious squatter.

"Get everyone out!" He ordered over his shoulder, "We will begin the foot search here!"

The personnel carriers emptied, dozens of troops in body armor, helmets, and brandishing knock-off versions of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s prototype plasma rifle. Stepping close to the fallen tree, the Colonel shown his light past the obstacle, his demeanor darkening at the sight beyond. A large swath of forest and road lay crushed, as if a giant had stepped across in a single stride.

The soldiers crossed over to the damaged area, the lights attached to their weapons their only means of cutting through the blackness.

Observing them from a distance, a curious eye in the dark watched them scramble about, searching for some unknown target. Through its filters, it analyzed the humans, switching between thermographic, electrographic, and even osteographic scans. _Curious little creatures_ , it thought.

"Spread out!" Amongst his men, the colonel waved and pointed to position them, "There must be some clue, some evidence of a trail!"

Several subordinate officers responded in the affirmative, restating the order to their own units. Then a high-pitched chirp pierced the night air, everyone freezing in place, not wanting to miss another audible trace. After a few moments, light beams started probing back and forth, trying to find anything that could have made such a bizarre sound. Thinking quickly, the Colonel retrieved a laptop from the jeep, and punched-in commands to access a real-time satellite feed.

The entity in the dark saw the satellite connection signal pop-up on its internal display, and saw a chance to answer its own questions.

On the computer's screen, the Colonel waited as the orbital telescope fixated in on his location, each pass of the image getting closer. But the image began to warp and glitch, an irritating static sound coming from the lap-top's speakers. The Colonel took a step back, his face twisted in bewilderment, a primal instinct warned him to put distance between himself and the machine.

"What the hell?"

The screen then went black, and after a second, a string of strange symbols began to flow from bottom to top, and a noise came from the speakers, garbled, scratchy sounds. In a flash the screen changed to show his position in the province, then it panned back to show most of China, then again to show most of the Asian continent.

 _There! I'm back on Earth!_

The watcher in the dark felt as close a sensation to relief as it possibly could. Finally understanding where it had been transported, it could resume its primary objective: terminate and conquer for its masters.

Another shrill cry, this one longer, broke the night's silence, this time it was followed by an ominous whirring. Without warning, the personnel carriers behind them exploded in balls of fire, illuminating the forest road in a hellish glow. The soldiers searched in a frenzy, unable to find a target, a few fired blindly into the dark.

The colonel turned on his men and motioned frantically for them to stop, "Stop it! Stop firing you fools!"

From a point high in the dark, a red beam shot down and cut its way through the remaining vehicles, moving through steel as easily as a hand through water. Fire coming from the more astute soldiers flew up to the general area of the beam's origin, the sound of the white plasma blasts striking something rallied the rest to join their own efforts.

 _Insufficient._ Thought the entity.

In the heights of the valley's darkness, a red visor manifested seemingly out of shadow, its internal light rapidly intensifying. He didn't know exactly why, but the colonel knew this would be the last thing he ever saw. With a flash of red, a scatter shot of crimson streaks rained down on the men, each exploding on impact with the ground, creating a cacophony of deafening noise and pulverizing concussive forces. Not even the body armor could save the men from being rent asunder by the bursts, their screams cut off in an instant.

The Watcher's sensors showed that one human was left alive, _no need to waste the energy_. A few of its programs had been damaged in the fall, namely its geo-locator, and astro-navigational system. But fortunately one of its newer functions, a stealth mode, had remained operational, allowing it to blend seamlessly with the darkness.

The Colonel's driver, thrown bodily over the jeep, coughed-up a mouthful of blood. Though disoriented, he could still feel the pain in the parts of his body pulverized by the blasts, and felt nothing in other parts. He turned his head, trying to catch at least one glimpse of the thing from the darkness who had slaughtered them in seconds. What he saw materialize from the shadows was more otherworldly than any enemy he thought might be lurking.

With a shimmer of blue light, an alien monstrosity emerged, tall enough to carve a skyscraper in half with one of the blades it seemed to have for hands. He couldn't tell if it was a machine or some kind of bizarre animal, its armor was midnight blue, and metallic spikes protruded from its knees and elbows. A line of serrated blades formed the center of its chest, oddly that seemed to shift and rattle on its own. But its face, with its metallic tooth filled beak, mandibles on either side, and the curved horn atop its head was the worst.

Most frightening though was the eye, a single red optic stretching from one side of its vicious face to the other.

The creature stretched out its arms, loosing another piercing shriek, its figure now partially revealed by the glow of the fires below. The shine in the center of the cyborg's eye was the last thing the man saw.

His wings were still damaged, pushing flight control below acceptable levels. His short-range teleportation however was operating within capacity, and had been effective in getting him this far. Internal repairs continued, soon enough all systems would be fully functional, optimal offensive capabilities restored. With nothing left to deal with here, Gigan assessed his next objective: destroy the nearest high-density population center.

 **BAXTER BUILDING**

24 hours ago Reed Richards was hopeful, happy, and eager to use his vision to help others. Now he just wished the universe scanner had wound-up on the pile of the forgotten and the failures. Who knows how many lives could have been spared had he simply moved on to a simpler project? And how many more are fated to perish as a result of his hubris?

The cityscape before him was a surreal sight, the usual bits of nightlights, passing traffic, building windows. Tonight though, there was a path of destruction and wreckage plowed through the city. The path was lightened even brighter than the city around it, flood lights allowing the dump trucks and bulldozers to work around the clock cleaning up the mess left behind by the Mole Man's monsters, and Godzilla's effortless victory over them.

Most people had escaped the battle in the city, thanks to the heroism of Hawkeye, Spider-Man and New York's finest. That type of attack came around monthly, the citizens here hardened to the fact of living amongst villains and super-heroes. But the utter defeat of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been the gut punch, the symbols of security, the established keepers of the peace, rendered useless against the might of a savage conqueror.

Earlier, after Johnny had gotten through to him, Reed, Sue, and Jean spent several hours helping out at the aid station, doing the best they could for the survivors. Of the 42 bodies so far recovered, 18 were still alive, and a miraculous 12 were not suffering from radiation sickness. No trace of Nick Fury had been found yet, and several other agents assigned to the Helicarrier remained unaccounted for. The Triskelion had largely been evacuated in time to avoid the collision, though the building itself was demolished.

And yet, Mr. Fantastic still couldn't shake the thought that this was a problem he could solve.

"You just gonna stand there and stare all night?"

Behind him Susan approached, she wore a bathrobe, having just showered off enough grit and dust that it came off her in streams. With her arms folded across her chest, the harried look of earlier was washed away, replaced by acceptance.

"Even you need to sleep some time."

Reed exhaled, "I've got to make this right Susan, I can't let my mistake go… uncorrected. I can't leave the others with my mess and not help clean it up."

"Well, I don't know what Rogers and the others have planned. But whatever you decide to do, you've got me."

Susan stepped forward and embraced her husband, ignoring the cityscape behind him. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he tried to reconcile the depression weighing him down minutes earlier, with the optimism his wife evoked.

"You and an enormous psychic moth."

Susan chuckled, "And what are we going to do about that thing?"

"I'm sure I can make a suit big enough for her too." Reed joked.

Susan pushed away from him, her attention momentarily drawn by the sound of Johnny arguing with Ben.

Pondering a thought, Reed reconsidered "Though I think the X-Men may already have their hooks in her."

"Mmm, power level like her I'd say she's Avengers material."

"Well then, we get Godzilla, they can't have two radioactive monsters."

 **ATLANTIC OCEAN**

She didn't know how he did it, but Godzilla's ability to disappear always frustrated the guardian deity. Mothra knew he was somewhere below in the depths, but she had no idea where he might go. The energy of this world was very different, structured much the same, which is probably why Godzilla could still use his varied powers, but it was like this place had a different flavor.

And the humans of this place, how different they were. Surely there must be a guardian entity somewhere on the planet, something that could help set things right. But at least the serenity of the ocean under the moonlight was still the same. Mothra wondered just how much of this world was like her own. One thing she was grateful for was the fact that he-

" _No…"_

A familiar sensation ripped into Mothra's heart, a horrifyingly familiar feeling. The terror gripping her, Mothra fluttered in place not believing in the presence she felt.

" _Not Him! It's impossible! Of all beings in creation He can't be here!"_

The thought of such a malevolent being threatening another world, its hatred and fury poisoning and burning its way to the core. If it was Him, then she needed to find powerful allies, fast. Perhaps that familiar energy she felt earlier could be of use. Somewhere in China, that's where she felt it.

For now Godzilla would have to wait, she hoped that he could avoid any more havoc before she found him. But if Godzilla sensed the same presence, there would be nothing he'd allow to stand between him and the hated enemy, and a whole new war would break out. With a chirp Mothra was moving again, the water under her pushed aside in her wake as she sped along at mach 3.


	9. Chapter 9: The Stars Are Against Us

**SHIELD SUB-STATION**

"So tell me what we've got."

In one of the many secret bases maintained by SHIELD in the tri-state area, what was left of the command cadre gathered together around a conference table in a dark room to give their reports to Captain Rogers. Rogers stood at the head of the table, a screen behind him showing several different feeds of first responders and news media footage. A woman with a dark blue uniform, short dark hair, and several abrasions on her face and hands stepped forward.

"Hill?" Cap asked, addressing Maria Hill by her name to start the brief.

"We've still found no trace of Director Fury." Maria Hill began with a sigh, "And 3-4 agents remain… unaccounted for."

She remembered how she felt earlier in the day, as her hazmat outfitted team shifted through tons of rubble and slag, looking for signs of those not recovered. They had found little, and what bits they did collectively amounted to the contents of a trash bag. But what was worse for her was the sections of rubble with shadows branded onto them. Her fellow agents, some of whom she probably knew reduced to nothing more than an image.

For someone who had dedicated the last decade of her life to SHIELD, it was hard for her to accept that they hadn't just lost a fight, they had never stood a chance in the first place. She had watched the organization combat villains from the super powered to the supernatural, and international terrorist groups. But nothing had prepared them for something as savage and powerful as the creature from the other universe. Godzilla had shrugged off their attacks and left them broken, just as she imagined he'd been doing to military forces for years.

Steve Rogers could recognize the look in her eyes, he'd seen the same one on a hundred soldiers. It was the look when a soldier came back in from a mission or a push up the hill, and they'd seen their buddies gunned down or blown to shreds. Behind those eyes was a mixture of exhaustion, desperation, and sorrow. Hill herself had only narrowly escaped death by being in the aft section of the Helicarrier when it was used to clobber the Triskelion. No doubt whatever magic Mothra had worked on the wreckage had saved a few lives, maybe even hers.

"Make sure teams are being cycled through to continue the recovery work, we don't stop until we've searched under every rock for missing agents. Quartermane, are we still tracking Godzilla?"

Agent Clay Quartermain, who had spent the better part of the day coordinating the relief efforts on the ground, his pale hair a little whiter after today, shook his head. Clay was one of the senior members of Fury's cadre, and he'd seen a lot of big threats come and go. The attacks of Doctor Doom and Magneto were terrible, but they at least were perpetrated by men, men with specific goals and motivations. Monsters were a whole different deal. You couldn't talk to a monster, threaten it, bribe it, get it to see reason. By their very nature in Clay's experience, monsters destroyed.

"Negative sir, you were right, that sonovabitch shook surveillance 10 minutes after he left. He could be half-way to Europe by now for all we know."

"And Mothra?" Rogers followed.

Clay shrugged his shoulders **,** "Seems like she's just as much in the dark as we are, heading in a generally easterly direction."

Steve Rogers lowered his jaw, looking to the floor. _At least the news on the Kaiju hadn't gotten any worse._

"Updates from SWORD on those disturbances?"

A third agent, Johnny Woo, who didn't look old enough to drink, nervously locked his eyes on Cap. Woo had literally been promoted two days ago, a by-the-book standout agent who had spent little time doing the kind of field work that usually got one a seat at the table. But since his superior had been lost in the destruction of the Triskelion, he'd gotten another promotion.

"Uh, yes sir, they're having some difficulty tracking whatever appeared in China, and are getting very little cooperation from the Chinese government. And they are on track to hit the oncoming asteroid with-"

"Asteroid?" A confused Cap interjected.

Woo hesitated, unsure of what the right response would be. "You… didn't know about the asteroid?"

Steve Rogers held his breath for a moment, wondering how something as important as an asteroid could not be at the top of the "Cap needs to know this" pile.

"Tell me about the asteroid."

"Well, it's on course to impact somewhere in the eastern region of Wakanda. Both SWORD and the Wakandan Tribal Government are coordinating the effort to… ah let's see here.."

Agent Woo fumbled with a few sheets of paper in his hands, a bead of sweat running down his forehead betrayed his nervousness.

"SWORD will take the first shot using the Peak's Focused Energy Rail-Gun, which should break the asteroid apart. At which point Wakanda will fire their own surface-to-air weaponry to fragment the remains into small enough bits to burn up in the atmosphere."

Captain America was not unaware of the possibility that the arrival of the asteroid and the invasion of Godzilla could be related somehow. But whatever the connection could possibly be eluded him; _what kind of coincidence could there be between the freak incident that brought Godzilla here, and an asteroid?_ If he were a more intelligent man, Steve felt, he might be able to detect one, but as it stood he had to deal with matters as he saw them.

"Quartermain, stay on top of the search. The instant he pops his head up, I wanna know about it. Make sure to track Mothra as well, she may be an ally, but that doesn't mean she can't do some serious damage."

Clay ran a hand through his pale hair, not excited about the prospect of spending more hours staring at radar scans and shifting through satellite pictures.

"Aye, Captain."

As Quartermain offered a tired salute and turned away, Cap cracked his neck side to side, the result of hours of rescue efforts and unending briefs.

"Woo, if anything doesn't go as planned with that asteroid, you personally make sure I know about it ASAP."

Johnny Woo saluted hastily, tucking the papers haphazardly under his arm

"Yes Sir!" He left the assemblage in a rush, grabbing several more sheets off the table before he loosed an audible exhalation at the doorway.

Maria Hill fixed Rogers with a curious stare, not liking to be made to wait until last. She wasn't the senior most agent, but she wasn't a rookie either.

"Captain?"

Her questioning tone caught him a bit off guard, but much like the thousand yard stare in her eyes, he recognized the desire to get back to work in the field, and not have the idle time to allow bad thoughts to fester.

"Hill, you and I go back out there and continue the search. Our job doesn't end until we turn over every brick."

"Yes sir." She responded grimly.

"Everyone else get back to your duties." Rogers announced, and the others in the room scurried in every direction. "Do the best you can with what you've got. We're not out of the woods yet."

 **THE PEAK**

"All stations report."

Every agent aboard the Peak was running on precarious nerves, the minutes passing like hours as they waited for the decisive moment. The precise second was drawing near when The Peak's base end would become a death ray powerful enough to incinerate cities, or in this case, an asteroid. Built into the superstructure of the base were energy conduits, fed by the stations own power core. After the shot was fired, the Peak would go dark temporarily, with emergency generators providing life-supporting functions until the main engines came back on. With the careful adjustments to the station's positioning done with mathematical accuracy, they only got one shot at this. It was risky, but Abigail Brand had confidence in her crew.

"All stations report safe and ready Ma'am." Announced one of the dozen SWORD agents manning a consol in the control deck.

Director Brand observed the display of the asteroid's trajectory on the wall-spanning screen "Good. Is Wakanda ready? It's their country at stake after all."

Below on the Earth, the nation of Wakanda readied themselves. Either they would be witness to a spectacular display of technology and human excellence, or their nation would be obliterated. Onlookers filled the streets and terraces, eager not to miss what they believed to be a spectacular light show of certain success.

King T'Challa, watching them all from his royal balcony, was not as assured, his practicality forcing him to prepare for the absolute worst. If the asteroid hit where it was projected to, the kingdom proper would not be struck, but the force of the impact would level Wakanda. Fortunately, they stood a good chance of averting such disaster with the help of their allies in the sky.

"It is almost time." Warned the trusted advisor N'Dele, who oversaw a small team of technicians diligently at work confirming calculations at various machines. Their consoles occupied portion of the private antechamber adjacent to the throne hall. Out of sight is served as a personal data hub for T'Challa and his governing cadre. "SWORD asks if we are prepared."

T'Challa tapped his fingers on the railing, the considerations at play to keep his kingdom safe forced his mind to revisit questions of status every minute. "Are the cannons readied? The shield generator powered-up?"

"They are my King."

T'Challa thought about the multiple factors at play as he looked down to see a young boy being placed on his father's shoulders, both of them pointing to the sky.

"Then we are ready." T'Challa said with resolute decisiveness. "Tell SWORD that Wakanda is prepared."

Aboard The Peak, the asteroid was now on the main holographic display, its pockmarked, harsh surface hurtling along. Director Brand scrutinized it intensely, bearing in mind Sydren's dire warning of destruction, death, and some kind of entity inside. It was a bit hard for her to imagine what the exact threat could be; _"some kind of virus?"_ she thought, trying to run through possible candidates. On the display, the space rock rotated slightly, the side that had been foremost now facing directly into the camera. A cold shiver crawled its way up Abigail's spine, her whole body tensed with some primal sensation of fear.

She didn't know what the big secret of the asteroid was, and she had no intention of finding out. Once the Focused Energy Rail Gun was primed, there would be no turning back, the power accumulated in the conduits had to be discharged.

"30 seconds to intersect!"

Snapping out of the contemplative state, Brand glanced over her shoulder to where the voice of the agent had come. "All stations, prepare for firing and temporary power-down."

Watching over the station, two pairs of sinister eyes narrowed in the empty space. Their view of the Peak was glossy, the veil between worlds still strong enough to prevent their penetration, but voyeuristic portals were a much simpler matter.

"Can their weapon do as they hope?"

"It is unknown…"

"We cannot take the chance!"

"Then it is time…"

On the outer structure of the station, the four energy conduits along the length of The Peak filled with neon green energy, the high pitched thrum of the generators pouring all their effort into the single shot.

"Prime at 15 seconds!" Brand called out, going through the designated protocol for the weapon's use. Once the power levels reached a certain minimum, the discharge had to be timed precisely, and priming the FERG put it on autopilot.

There was no turning back now. The asteroid had just entered firing range, and the aura of burning gas around it seemed to glow all the brighter.

"Weapon primed!"

With the FERG activated, Abigail saw the countdown clock appear on the screen. "Make sure Wakanda is tracking our time and-"

"Director!" SWORD agent Cecilia cried out, "There's another anomaly! 600 meters starboard!"

"WHAT!?" Brand's eyebrows flared above the rim of her glasses.

The loudspeaker began the countdown.

"10"

Half of the display screen was now taken up by the image of a swirling cloud of purple and black smoke, roiling and fuming with arcs of lightning.

"9"

"Something's coming through!" Cecilia yelled.

"8"

From the center of the maelstrom, an object emerged. A huge crystalline asteroid.

"7"

Brand gawked at the screen, "What the hell is that thing!?"

"6"

An ominous, piercing wail struck The Peak.

"5"

At the base of the power conduits, the energy began to build, an orb of green particles growing in size.

"4"

Surging out from the new crystal asteroid, pulses of white-ringed energy twisted forward and enveloped The Peak.

"3"

The station was thrown into a tumult, losing its equilibrium and pitching away.

"2"

Even the experienced and toughened Director of SWORD was unable to hide her fear, their one chance now lost because of a surprise interloper.

"1"

"Oh, fu-"

"0"

The F.E.R.G. fired, the blast of green energy 10 meters wide shot off into the depths of space. The asteroid sailed on by without hindrance. The lights of the control deck on the Peak went dark, the shot having drained the primary power core temporarily. A few heartbeats passed in the shadows, the glow of the Earth out the window stark among the silent blackness. While the emergency generators kept the oxygen and artificial gravity running, the crew waited for the power cells to recharge, which according to protocols, should take less than a minute.

With a whirring start, the lights returned and the different control consoles came back to life.

"Warn the Wakandans!" Brand screamed immediately, "And someone get me some data on whatever the hell that other rock was!"

Abigail Brand watched through the window as the two objects continued undeterred on their trajectories, hurtling towards the Earth.

"I swear…" Abigail muttered under her breath, "Some days it's like the universe wants me to fail."

 **WAKANDA**

Thousands of citizens had waited for the dazzling light show, but it never came. Black Panther however, had no time to wonder.

"All weapon stations, open fire on the asteroid!"

The perimeter of the kingdom came to life as massive energy gun batteries pumped out blast after blast of lavender colored shots, the hundreds of them racing skyward to meet the star of doom head on. T'Challa's heart raced, hoping that their weapons could do what they needed, at least beak it up enough for the dome to be effective.

 **TRISKELION**

Hundreds of agents, construction workers, and volunteers crawled over the wreckage of S.H.I.E.L.D., dozens of trucks and cranes continuing the search for the missing and the sensitive. With the stem that connected the island to the bay floor facility ripped apart, the Triskelion relied on the stabilizing turbines that surrounded the underside. Many meters below them, more rescue efforts were being attempted for those who were miraculously still alive, but trapped in the lower levels. These survivors included several high-security prisoners that required even more precious resources be diverted to ensure their detention.

Dressed in the same hazmat suits as everyone else, Captain America and Special Agent Maria Hill had their own particular task, that of recovering as much sensitive material as possible. The damage caused by the destruction of the Triskelion and Helicarrier went far beyond the tangible, they suffered an immeasurable loss of intelligence and data. Smashed computer banks with irreplaceable electronic files, hard copies of confidential reports obliterated in the fire or the saltwater of the bay.

Steve Rogers pushed aside a steel beam, allowing Maria to grasp a handful of file folders.

"Anything important?"

Shuffling through the stack, she huffed with frustration.

"Negative, just some quarterly reports on food in the cafeteria."

No less chagrined, Rogers put his hands on his hips, his shoulders beginning to get tired. But his attention perked when the comlink in his ear sparked.

"Sir? Captain Rogers?" On the other end, Agent Woo sounded very nervous.

"Yeah, go ahead." Rogers answered.

"Sir this is Agent Woo, I uh… You said to.."

"What is it son? Spit it out."

"The Peak Missed sir, something interfered and made The Peak miss."

Captain America froze.

"Something interfered? They weren't able to identify?"

"Well, eh… they said something about crystals. A huge chunk of crystals."

 **THE BLACKBIRD**

 **OVER THE ARCTIC**

Thousands of feet above the arctic circle, the signature aircraft of the X-Men broke cloud cover and gleamed in the sunlight.

"This is so awesome!"

With both hands against the window, Janet Pym, The Wasp, took in the grand view of the top of the world.

Sitting in thefront passenger seat, Kitty Pryde turned around, excitedly gripping the headrest with both hands, "I know! It's too bad Jean couldn't come, we would have had some great girl time."

Elsewhere in the jet was the rest of the expeditionary team, Nightcrawler in a seat opposite Janet, and Cyclops at the helm.

"I'm glad you're coming through Jan." Kitty continued, "I've always wanted to work with the Avengers."

"Truth be told,"

Wasp took her face away from the window, a grin of her own beaming back to the teenager.

"I've always been a little jealous of you guys."

Kitty furrowed her brow, confused as to why someone world famous would envy a bunch of scorned recluses. "Us? Why?"

"Well, you guys have always been so close. You're not just a team, you're a family. The Avengers sometimes, I don't know, can be like a sports team. We come together for something, and then everyone goes their separate ways afterwards. You guys just go back home."

"Believe me Jan, it's not all movie nights and slumber parties." Cyclops called back, "There's a lot of the same drama and petty squabbles."

"You're telling me!"

Slouched in his seat with his legs over the side, Nightcrawler extended his arms in the air, augmenting his point.

"living in a house full of people with mutant powers, not a great thing when I teleport into a room and startle someone."

The comment caused Kitty to chuckle "Yeah, I remember once while I was sleeping I phased through my bed and wound up in Scott's"

"yeah… I remember." Scott mumbled.

Kitty's laugh intensified.

"I landed between, _[chuckle]_ Between him and Jean!"

Both Wasp and Nightcrawler burst into laughter, Cyclops merely tightened his expression.

"In any case…" Cyclops cut in. "We're always glad to lend Cap a hand when he needs it, I know he's pretty stretched at the moment. Not that we aren't with Colossus visiting his family in Russia and Wolverine on another one of his 'sabbaticals'."

Wasp's chuckle waned, "Yeah, I glad he asked me to come along, he's been wanting our teams to work together more often. Plus I get to be a part of your super-secret mission to investigate the anomaly in China."

Kitty phased through her seat, making a gesture like a thief. "Cap knows we're the best at this type of sneaky-stuff!"

"Cyclops? Cyclops are you there?"

Pressing the intercom button, Cyclops answered the call from the professor.

"Go ahead Professor X."

Xavier's voice came through the line clear, "Scott, how far along are you?"

"Aaaaaa… little over half-way, why?"

"I've patched a news feed to your monitor, turn it on."

Cyclops turned on the television, and was met by live news footage from a Chinese broadcast. Beijing was in flames.

All in the jet were shocked, Wasp covered her mouth in horror.

"Professor, what am I seeing?" Cyclops asked, mouth agape at the sight.

"Keep watching."

The images switched between scenes of people fleeing, broken buildings, and Chinese tanks rolling through ravaged streets. Then the camera showed glimpses of something huge moving swiftly through the smoke, appearing in one spot and vanishing.

Immediately Godzilla came to Scott's mind, but there was no way that could be him! Not in China, and certainly not moving like whatever this thing was.

Finally the entity paused long enough to be captured.

"Mein Gott im Himmel…"

Nightcrawler made the sign of the cross over his heart as he watched Gigan step through a veil of black smoke, crushing an ornate building underfoot. With a bizarre, twisted shriek, a thin red beam shot out from its forehead, weaving its way among a formation of tanks. One after another the armored vehicles erupted into explosions, people and machine shredded.

Xavier continued to narrate as the footage shifted "I find it incredulous that this creature would appear at nearly the same time as Godzilla, so I reached out to the Fantastic Four to see if they can figure out what you're dealing with."

"Ah, Professor," Kitty raised a finger, staring at the image of the freakish monster. "Don't you think we might be a little out-matched here?"

"While I am hesitant to see you fly into danger Kitty, response forces are stretched very thin at the moment, All I want you to do is help in the evacuation effort. Do not fight this monster directly. Since whatever this thing is appears to be a cyborg of some kind, I've contacted Tony Stark. Though I've yet to hear back from him."

Cyclops rolled his eyes "No surprise there."

"Hey!" Wasp exclaimed with an indignant tone, "Believe me, I know how frustrating Tony can be at times, but if he's needed somewhere, he'll be there, he's an Avenger. And I'm pretty sure something like that" she said, pointing to the screen "A big weird scissor-face thing, is all the incentive he needs."

Summers toggled a few witches to increase velocity, "Well let's hope you're right, it doesn't look like Beijing is gonna be around for much longer."

 **XAVIER INSTITUTE**

Charles Xavier wasn't very happy about seeing his X-Men, people who he considered to be family, sailing off into danger. But he was very practiced at it. Over the course of the years, he had seen many come and go through his school, through his team. Some had left of their own accord, others had been forced to leave. A precious few had been taken away. He couldn't say if the menace they faced from these monster was the greatest, but they certainly were unique.

As Charles sped through the halls of his complex, he thought about his own efforts in the past 24-hours. After Godzilla had slunk away to the ocean in the wake of his attack, he had tried to contact the mind of the beast. But while Cerebro was strong enough to reach out, he found Godzilla's mind impenetrable. Whatever door Jean used to touch his psyche, was closed for the time being. Not long after that, Godzilla disappeared from Cerebro's detection entirely. " _What a fascinating creature."_ Xavier thought, turning a corner in the brightly lit tunnel. " _If only Hank and I could get the chance to study his biology, he is a mutation after all. To think of all we might learn."_

Still, Xavier knew that Captain America of all people, would never send the X-Men into needless peril, not after all the work they had done after the Mutant Internment Act. With the X-Men enjoying the personal and public endorsement of the Avengers, things had never been better. Well, there was that whole incident with the Phoenix.

Xavier steered his chair up to the chamber door, beyond which lay his powerful amplifier, Cerebro. From the center console on the door the retinal scan expanded, casting a white 'X' across his face.

"Welcome, Charles Xavier." The monotone computer announced.

The door separated, spiraling outwards until the way was clear.

"Hello again Cerebro."

The catwalk to the station was illuminated along the edges, the soft lighting revealing the wider chamber that surrounded it all.

" _Let us see if I can reach out to this new creature, perhaps I can slow it down."_

The helm visibly powered on, the cables that attached it to the rest of the machine thrumming to life. Taking the helmet in hand, Xavier placed it over his head, and closing his eyes, concentrated.

Within the room around him, the emptiness birthed a world of vague shapes, some moving, some static, all of them conscious minds. The figures shrunk as Xavier expanded his scope, reaching wider, father, trying to find what must surely be a unique signature. But then he felt a strange magnetism, as if some other entity, with an incredibly powerful psyche was approaching.

He diverted his attention, something about this new being seemed to pull psychic energy towards it, of he could only-

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Xavier thrashed in his chair, his teeth clamped together so hard they nearly cracked. _Such pain, such malice… such terror._ His mind was flooded with images of destruction, a world consumed in flames, a terrible lightning that ripped at the very Earth, and laughter. Not a laughter of joy, not even one of manic insanity, but a furious laughter, one born of a consuming hatred. Xavier's fingers dug into his arm rests as he felt a pitiless, boundless, transcendent evil graze past his own mind without pause to care.

With a frantic gasp, Xavier finally felt himself loosed from the grip, whatever unthinkable being he had reached out to, was uninterested in such an insignificant morsel.

His eyes shot open in a cold sweat, the air in his lungs at last allowed to escape.

"I haven't felt anything that powerful, that pure since… Since the Phoenix…"

Cerebro was still attached, and just as Xavier reached-up to remove it, another mind appeared, out of thin air, as if it had simply come into being spontaneously. " _what is this one? It feels different…"_ The sensation from this new mind certainly felt malevolent, but it was more of a familiar type, the kind that sought a goal, had direction, unlike the other one.

" _What other unspeakable evil could this possibly be? I have to-"_

The second entity probed back. Xavier felt its attention shift to him, it was curious. Xavier tried to pull away, but the other mind followed him, chased after him as he retreated.

" _What are you? What do you want?"_ Charles asked mentally, trying to put something between he and it.

The mind of the entity recoiled, apparently surprised at the question. _Had it never been spoken to before?_ Charles wondered.

" _You… Human…"_

The voice in the entity's mind sounded as if it had never formed words before, like it was feeling its way forward. " _its mind is so raw, so primal."_ Charles thought.

Then a wash of thoughts from the stranger overtook him. Instead of images of chaos and death, these were crystalline, a world in perfect symmetry.

" _What is this place?"_ the question from the entity felt tense, like it was guarding against an anticipated threat.

" _This is Earth, but if my suspicious are correct, a different one than you are familiar with."_

Xavier felt the entity pause, considering the situation.

" _It… does not matter…"_

" _What doesn't matter?"_ The professor asked " _Who are you?"_

The amorphous psyche of the entity contracted, becoming darker in shade, and altering its shape. Sharp points began to protrude from various points on the psyche, forming a symmetrical carapace on the backside. A face now began to form on the near side, a maw filled with fangs, coarse skin, and a strange horn protruding from its forehead. But the eyes glowed, red eyes with pitch black pupils, they glared back at Xavier.

Charles felt the entity bear down on him, reaching back through Cerebro to locate where he was.

" _I will start… there…"_

"No!"

Xavier snapped his eyes open, and quickly tore Cerebro off of his head. He stared at the device with narrowed eyes, as if it had betrayed him by allowing this alien to extend its own will back through to him. Whatever this thing was, whatever its intentions, it was now heading for the mansion, for his home, for his family.

 **EARTH'S EXOSPHERE**

Multitudes of energy blasts, fired from the massive weapon constructs used to defend the city, headed far away from their native land, on course to impact the coming destroyer.

Wakandan satellites observed the scene through powerful telescopes, this strange asteroid, saved from obliteration by the intervention of a second, even more mysterious object. The leading face of the asteroid became covered by a heat shield as it bore into the Earth's atmosphere, its decent now beginning in earnest.

Watching the live feed from the eyes in the sky, T'Challa, the Black Panther, King of Wakanda, waited with bated breath and clenched fist. Some cruel twist of fate had prevented the Peak from firing on the falling star, now it was left to Wakanda alone to mitigate the damage. Outside, the constant pounding of the cannons firing their Vibranium derived expulsions rattled the entire city, never before had his tiny kingdom faced such a threat.

The aerodynamic heating forming around the asteroid intensified, glowing brighter, bits of debris breaking off and burning away into smoke.

Helpless aboard the Peak, Abigail Brand watched as the body hurtled ever closer to its target.

T'Challa edged closer to the monitor as the first volley of cannon fire approached, he mouthed a silent prayer to the god of his people.

The first several purple blasts missed their target, flying off into the void. But a few after managed to strike home, punching into the rocky surface, with little effect. The Vibranium-based projectiles now came hard and fast, peppering the asteroid furiously, blowing off larger and larger chunks of its surface.

"It's starting to work your majesty!" N'Dele called out from a separate monitor station.

" _Devastation might be averted yet…"_ T'Challa thought to himself.

A burst of flames lashed out of the object, as if responding to the assault.

The monitoring equipment glitch for a second, and Panther recoiled, "What is happening?"

"I don't know your highness." N'Dele stammered at his own computer monitor, trying to understand what could be causing the disturbing phenomena.

A flare of fire battered against a volley of Wakandan missiles, dispersing them.

N'Dele went at the control of his station furiously, "This shouldn't be happening! Something is wrong!"

The arcs of flames condensed into a buffer, an orange nimbus that deflected the oncoming lavender blasts.

" _It's protecting itself…"_ T'Challa thought, suddenly finding himself far more alarmed than he had been.

Ignoring the satellite monitor and stepping out onto the balcony, he could now see the object in the sky, bright and burning, punching its way through another layer of atmosphere. Below him, the people were no longer gathered in wonder and curiosity, the realization of what now loomed over them causing a few to start exclaiming in terror. T'Challa knew that it only takes a few to start a mass panic. For a city that has been so protective of its isolation, it was that same seclusion that now threatened to ensure their obliteration.

Far above, the protective heat shield on the asteroid bore through the torrent of hostile fire, moving at a speed that flouted the fight being put against it.

His entire body tensing under the specter of the impending destruction, Black Panther turned away from the balcony, "Put the dome up!"

"Your majesty!" N'Dele pleaded, "If we do that, we won't be able to fire the cannons!"

"They're not stopping it! They're not even slowing it down! The dome is all we have left!"

Reacting quickly, N'Dele entered a series of commands into his consol.

"Ready, my King."

A floor panel slid open, and rising from it came a thin podium which T'Challa approached. Atop the stand was a pair of scanners, a blue flat panel for a hand, and a half-orb on an extended neck for the eyes. Black Panther removed a glove and placed his hand on the blue grid, a line of light passed under it swiftly, and the device emitted a soft chime, signaling success. Taking off his hood, T'Challa leaned over to allow the antenna-like scanner to read his retina.

After a second successful chime the center of the panel separated, revealing a red grip handle. Without further hesitation, T'Challa grabbed it, and pulled. Around the city proper, a translucent purple-tinged dome was created by generators placed around the perimeter. At full power it could protect the capitol from all but the most powerful explosions. A second, larger dome spawned over a much wider area covering a few miles around the capitol. Thinner by necessity, T'Challa knew it could not withstand the force of the asteroid's impact, but both shields together, he hoped they could protect the city from obliteration.

The streets of Wakanda were now filled with citizens screaming and racing for cover, seeing their nation's last line of defense mounted. The door to the chamber burst open, and in came the Queen of Wakanda, Ororo Munroe, also known to her friends as Storm.

"Husband! Come with me to the bunker!"

T'Challa met her, and they grasped each other's hands. "If the domes fail, do you think we will be better off crushed in the bunker? I must remain here, I will not abandon my people to go hide in a hole."

Storm weaved past her husband's arms and grasped him by the shoulders.

"Then I will not permit you to face this peril alone!"

Ororo and T'Challa embraced, both looking upwards to where the asteroid was now impossible to ignore, filling the sky with its burning presence.

For all the anticipation, the climax lasted only a second. The asteroid struck the rim of the outer dome, its aura of fire colliding into the protective shield. The dome bowed under the strain of the space-rock, steadily losing the battle to maintain its integrity. Finally it gave out, and the asteroid burned its way through to the ground, burying itself into the earth.

T'Challa and Ororo waited for the massive shockwave to rock the city and the accompanying wash of wind to flatten buildings and throw-up debris, but it never came.

The asteroid sat nestled in a incongruously small crater, emitting a continual throbbing hum, thousands of bits and shards of rubble orbiting in suspended animation around its equator like Saturn's ring. It glowed with an inner light that brightened and dimmed with every pulse, the jungle vegetation around it withering to blackened husks. The satellite images showing the bizarre phenomena with intermittent static and glitches.

Storm and Black Panther looked to each other in confusion.

"My love I don't understand" Storm whispered in shock, "How can an asteroid behave like this?"

"It could be a blessing in disguise, or something far more terrible than just a falling rock. Most likely the latter."

Black Panther approached the banister of the balcony to view the people below in an equally confused state of anxious terror. With the dome no longer needed, the cover receded and the clear blue skies were opened again. The citizens strode about asking one another what must have happened, the fact that the asteroid landed was unquestioned, but why hadn't it acted like it should have?

The main screen which N'Dele monitored continued to malfunction, the data calculations on the right side refusing to stabilize. "Your highness, I'm trying to get new readings on the object, but there's some kind of interference."

Panther came beside N'Dele at the consol, examining the data for himself. Making a few adjustments, the spectral analysis became slightly clarified. T'Challa narrowed his eyes, the information not making him feel any more at ease.

"It's magnetic disturbance, somehow the asteroid is giving off an irregular magnetic field."

Switching to another filter, the asteroid's thermal signature was steadily rising. At 300° and climbing, the surrounding environment was quickly turning into a barren wasteland of plant and animal life.

"There is far more to this asteroid than meets the eye." T'Challa said to himself. "But if left alone it will decimate life in Wakanda."

Black Panther faced the stares of his queen, his royal guard, and the assorted aides in the room, his mind reluctantly set on his course of action.

"We've seen this entity defend itself from attacks, but we have to know more about what we are dealing with. Our instruments cannot provide us the necessary information, so… I will lead a team to investigate the asteroid up-close."

Storm visibly balked, the air in the room developing a distinct scent of ozone.

"Husband, even I can sense the immense power radiating from that thing, if you or anyone else go near it, you might not survive."

"Perhaps you can bring a cold front down onto the asteroid and counteract its thermal output."

Placing her hands on either side of her husband's face, Storm looked deep into his eyes. "I would bury it in ice if you wanted me too."

T'Challa considered the option for a moment.

"It may come to that, but not yet. For now, just keep the immediate area from becoming a desert."

"That…" Storm levitated herself into the air, her eyes glowing white with power; "…I can do."


	10. Chapter 10: Hulk vs ?

**NEW YORK CITY**

 **SHIELD STORAGE FACILITY**

In the underground hanger, dozens of SHIELD agents and scientists bustled through the spaces, offices, and catwalks that spanned the bunker. An elevator hummed and chimed as it lowered itself down a shaft, passing one level after another. Two people rode inside, standing in awkward silence.

Bruce Banner held his files at his side, his eyes darting to his right at the woman next to him.

"It's nice to see you back at work Betty."

Elizabeth Ross regarded him carefully, their long and painful history not easily ignored in such a small space.

"Given my experience with… extraordinary cases, they actually called me. How'd you wind-up down here?"

The elevator shifted, jostling the pair inches closer to each other. Diffusing the tension by averting his gaze, Bruce adjusted his glasses.

"I uh, I was in the city for a consultation, and-"

"That wouldn't be anything to do with that radioactive skyscraper that leveled SHIELD would it?" She asked accusingly.

"In a peripheral manner yes, but-"

"Jesus, Bruce." Betty Ross put a hand across her face. "Of all people to get involved with something like that, it had to be you."

"Hey!" Bruce faced her and pointed a finger in her direction. "That's not fair! All I did was some research due to the radioactive nature of Godzilla, the whole plan was Reed's idea."

"So that's its name huh? Where's he from, Poland?"

Banner straightened himself out and held his files over his stomach. "A parallel universe actually."

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, revealing to the pair the reason for their involvement. The battered bodies of Giganto and Megataur lay side-by-side on platforms in the enormous hanger. Catwalks that spanned their prone forms held dozens of scientists who took notes and pointed to the various wounds both exhibited.

Adjusting his glasses, Banner was unmoved by the sight. "If I didn't already know what put these two creatures on slabs, I'd be a little bowled over right now."

"Not more so than they were I bet." Betty said as they set out for their work station

"Mmm."

The pair walked out over the grotesque remains, it was unnerving, even for Bruce Banner to see such powerful creatures reduced to such pitiful states. Giganto's torso blackened to a crisp from the atomic beam that punched it into a building. Megataur's skeletal structure crushed, its form a misshapen and bloody mess carefully collected off of the Manhattan pavement.

"It'll take days to document all the injuries." She remarked "And I'm not sure what good an autopsy would do."

They walked on a pathway that took them beside the behemoths "Nonetheless I'd like to run a full battery of tests, get blood samples."

As he spoke the words, a bulge on Megataur's right thigh burst, spilling gallons of blood and yellowish pus onto the floor.

"Seems like that won't be too hard. I'd also like to get data on the residual radiation left by their contact with Godzilla."

"I don't know if I want you anywhere near radiation Bruce."

"I'll wear a protective suit, don't worry. It's not like the Hulk stops me from

being a scientist, I've been working for SHIELD for years."

Giganto's head, cradled by steel cables attached to a crane, was raised up and brought at an angle to gaze out over its body. The eyes rolled to the back of their sockets, its tongue lolling to the side and nearly severed in half, the former hench-monster looked as if its face had been used for a punching bag.

"Do you think things like this could be the new horizon?" She asked as they passed by.

"What do you mean?"

"With people who can defy physics on a whim to fly, shoot fire, or take on the Avengers single-handedly…" She gave Bruce Banner a measured glance. "How far are we really from monsters like these two, or even Godzilla becoming more commonplace?"

"Well, fate is often a capricious thing, but nature is not. We may have been taken off guard by the Mutants, but that's only because they were kept hidden. The signs of their arrival were there, we just didn't even think to look. If creatures like these two are gonna be the next trend to break out, we'll see it coming. Literally if not metaphorically."

Betty looked down to where scientists were collecting samples of material from between Megataur's teeth, she didn't envy them.

"I like to think that as long as our monsters don't get much larger than these two, we'll do just fine."

Moving through the darkness of the New York sewage system, another monster shuffled through the mire of refuse and decades of accumulated slime. The meager meal it made of the humans the night before had been enough to hold its form together for the time being, but its cells were still not strong enough to maintain for long. With most of its body destroyed, the struggle to fight off the cellular dissolution drove it to seek the protection of the shadows. It needed to build itself back-up, but it needed more material, it would require larger prey.

"Ah, Dr. Banner, Dr. Ross, so glad you could make it."

A stocky man sporting a thick pair of glasses and a lab coat approached the pair as they entered a spacious and meticulously organized laboratory. But what always struck Bruce about the man was the peculiar bowl haircut that he wore.

"Octavius." Banner returned the greeting. "Surprised to see you here."

Bruce reached out and shook the hand of Dr. Otto Octavius, who in turn shook Betty's as well.

"Why would that be? Because those short-sighted fools at the Royal Academy got a little squeamish, SHIELD wouldn't touch me? Director Fury is a practical man, and recognizes useful talent when he sees it."

Betty was well aware of Otto's notorious reputation for being unorthodox, or as others had termed 'demented'. "You didn't exactly give them much choice after you tried to convince them to fund your "Human-centipede' project."

Octavius coughed and lowered his eyes for a moment. "Yes, well, probably for the best anyways."

"So what have you discovered so far?" Bruce asked to try and vanquish the awkwardness.

"Ah, A number of things!" Octavius moved swiftly to where an array of X-ray images were pinned to a long glass panel. Switching on the backlight, the internal structures of Giganto and Megataur were displayed from various points.

"As you might have noticed on your stroll through the facility, both monsters suffered catastrophic internal injuries, Megataur getting the worst of it."

Indeed, the images of Megataur's internal structure was basically a sack of pulverized bones and organs. its skull flattened into a contorted mask of fractures.

"What I found to be particularly curious, was that despite taking the full force of a beam of radioactivity, the creature shows no trace of the, frankly atmospheric levels of radiation you'd expect. There are increased levels to be sure, but most of the energy must have dissipated after expulsion."

"Remarkable." Bruce marveled, examining a printout with various radiometric charts. "I'd damn near expect the body to be glowing!"

"Thank god for small favors." Ross mumbled.

"Indeed." Otto went on while a monitor on a table replayed news footage of Godzilla incinerating the Triskelion. "Had the radiation acted in a more, conventional manner, Manhattan would be uninhabitable right now."

The monster's snout perked up, catching the faintest scent of a familiar source of potent material. It had to hide itself from the origin of the power earlier, knowing it was far too weakened to stand any chance against Godzilla. But this lingering taste, it was the residual power seething from something else, something nice and large.

Saliva dripped between its malformed jaws with the anticipation of a more palatable meal. The scent was coming through vents further down the sewer line, coming up from some other place even deeper than the tunnels. Its own massive claws striking out in the direction of the trail, hauling itself along, the craving pushing it onward.

The memories of waking up were blurry and chaotic, shades of light and darkness, smoke and fire. Then came the void, where it lingered for an unknown time, perhaps an hour, perhaps years. But what felt familiar, what remained from before, was the hunger and the manic desire to consume.

The skin cell sample under the microscope, aside from the bacteria growing on it, elicited a curious sound from Bruce Banner.

"Despite the massive damage from the blast, Giganto's skin seems to have survived remarkably well. Perhaps Godzilla just used a lower level of force for a much smaller opponent."

"That's what I'm thinking." Betty Ross examined her own readings of fluid samples, the data listed across three computer screens.

"From what I'm seeing here the beam used was mostly force. Otto is right when he says there should be lethal levels of radioactivity present, but there just not here. Do you think he can control this weapon to that fine a degree?"

"Well…" Bruce took his face away from the eyepiece, massaging the bridge of his nose. "If that were true, than that could either mean that he can't always use the beam at full power, or he chose not to use too much radioactivity. If the latter is the case, than that would possibly be an implication of strategic forethought. An understanding of the effects of his weapon on other living things or the environment.

Could you imagine Betty, a creature with that much destructive capability, exercise that level of strategic thinking."

"He certainly seemed to be considering his actions this morning." Octavius said as he passed through the double doors to the lab, another tray of tissue samples in his hands. "From what I saw, Godzilla noticed the two hapless creatures making a ruckus of downtown, and intervened to stop them."

"Otto, are you saying that Godzilla was responding to protect us from Mole Man's monsters?" Banner asked.

"Think about it Banner, Godzilla defeated Giganto and Megataur, but didn't become hostile until Captain America and SHIELD began to attack him." Setting the tray down, Octavius used a pair of forceps to lift a chunk of lavender flesh onto a hanging weight scale. "In fact I dare to say that he might have felt rather indignant afterwards."

Betty fixed Octavius with a stare that seethed with the intent to throttle.

"Godzilla killed hundreds of people today, and single handedly crippled America's national defense within an hour."

Using a magnifier on a mechanical arm, Octavius examined the layers of Megataur's flesh.

"I'm not trying to put a positive spin on anything, I'm merely saying that it was self defense."

Betty thought of Otto Octavius as a creep, a sociopath, and a borderline mad scientist, but she had to admit his observation made sense. Her mind flashed back to the day Bruce Banner's other half, the Incredible Hulk, stopped a Hydra plot to take over a missile silo in New Mexico. Once Hydra was defeated however, her father General Thaddeus Ross, ever resentful of his inability to make the Hulk into a weapon, ordered the Hulk-Buster unit to capture him.

She screamed at her father to stop the assault, if for no other reason than the Hulk had just prevented a terrorist group from launching a nuclear warhead on American cities. She had known the Hulk had tried to do a good thing, but the fear and mistrust of others had caused him to lash out in rage. Despite the monster on the outside, Betty saw the man on the inside. Perhaps there was more to Godzilla than just fire and fury. Perhaps the fault for the day's tragedy lay at SHIELD's feet, the consequences of attacking a dangerous animal.

"Well I can certainly relate to that." said Bruce, nonchalantly switching out one Petri dish for another. "Though, much like the Hulk, there has to be some response to the damage he does. Even I can understand the necessity of bringing down a dangerous animal."

"Quite right." Octavius piped, using a large pin to prod the layers of dermis. "It must be rather poetic for you I imagine."

Putting his face back down to the eye lens, Banner turned a few knobs on the side of the microscope. "At least I have the Avengers to look out for me. Apparently all Godzilla has is a magical _Lepidoptera_."

Elizabeth Ross turned back to the ampoule collection of blood, saliva, and endocrine secretions, but her mind had again drifted into reminiscence. After all the drama between she and Bruce, she remembered how normal he could be, how thoughtful. She eyed the swirling yellow fluid in one of the glass cylinders, trying to recollect the justification for her frustration with him.

She might have remembered the cause, if not for the sudden blaring of the alarm system. Red lights and a loud siren sent the facility into a flurry of rushed activity. Banner, Ross, and Octavius watched through the transparent lab walls as agents and staff scientists ran to do whatever their emergency protocols instructed them to do.

"Do you think Godzilla has returned?" Otto asked, the uncertainty making him visibly tense.

"I don't think so." answered Bruce, rising from his chair. "I'd be alerted the second he did. I was flown out of the city this morning, and would be again if he returned."

The sound of concrete crumbling and equipment being thrashed drew them all to the wall, where hands against the glass, they saw the far end to their left engulfed in chaos.

"Someone or something has breached the facility!" cried Octavius, rushing back to the biological samples, putting protective covers over them. "We must secure the samples! Who knows what they could be after!"

Without arguing, Betty and Bruce joined him in the effort. Bruce took a moment to extract a small silver box from his pants pocket, and from that, a white pill. He placed the pill on his tongue and swallowed, exhaling smoothly afterwards. Ignoring the ruckus going on outside the lab, he felt his heart rate slow down and his body relax. He had designed the compound himself, to combat the anxiety and stress that would trigger what he liked to call 'an episode of the Green'. With the medication at work, he set to helping Betty box the fluid samples.

Outside the lab, armed agents approached the epicenter of the uproar, stepping carefully towards the breach where the severed pipelines to the super cooling units spewed their contents and obscured the point of entry. The leader of the team of five tactically uniformed SHIELD agents, assault rifles at the high ready and gas masks lowered, signaled to form a line facing the breach.

Through the mask the lead agent could smell the rancid stink coming out from the breach, and he mentally back-tracked the route of the intruder.

"Be careful, whatever broke in here dug its way down from the sewer lines, and through five feet of reinforced concrete."

Answering his warning from the cover, a distorted growl cut through the cold mist. The lead agent raised a fist and the team stopped, their semicircle formation poised to empty their magazines onto whatever had been so brazen or unfortunate to breach the facility.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"

At the sound of his voice, the shape in the mist shifted, it focus drawn towards the sound.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"

Another low growl was the only audible reply.

"OPEN FIRE!"

At once the five men commenced the assault, dozens of rounds a second pouring onto the shaded intruder. The sign of slight movement was the only thing that confirmed that the rounds were actually striking, but the figure remained in place. Another moment and the leader waved his hand across his face, the signal to cease fire, and the men obeyed, giving each other nervous glances. A new light emerged dimly through the fog, yellow and growing.

One of the men aside the lead agent lost his nerve "Sir?"

The team leader lowered his rifle, his eyes widening; "FALL BACK!"

But by then it was too late as a beam of yellow energy burst out of the

vapor and engulfing the lead agent, lifting him off his feet and slamming him against the platform holding Giganto.

A furious roar of challenge announced Orga as he stepped out of the mist and grasped two agents in his massive claws, shattering their skeletons in an instant. The shoulder cannon continued to pour out alien energy, carving a path of demolition up the wall and along the ceiling. Debris rained down on the scrambling scientists as they ran for their lives.

The two remaining agents emptied their magazines at point blank range, the bullets sinking into Orga's hide, only for the entry wounds to heal almost instantaneously. With the two broken men still in his clutches, Orga lunged to his right and took the fourth agent in his expansive maw, swallowing him like a python in two gulps. The last man realizing the cause was lost, turned and fled.

"Fascinating…" whispered Otto, watching in total captivation, paying no attention to the agent as he sprinted past the lab.

"Pay attention Otto!" demanded Betty as she and Bruce hauled several hard cases over to the only exit at the front of the room. "We can't carry all these by ourselves!"

Snapping his body away from the glass, Otto let his mind continue to fantasize about the experimental possibilities. "Of course…" he muttered, taking three of the cases in his hands and following Bruce and Betty towards the door.

Orga leapt atop a platform, the legs of some hapless SHIELD agent sticking out of his mouth, which disappeared down his gullet with one last gulp. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the trio of fleeing scientists heading for the elevator. Instantly the alien glutton sensed something different about one of them, the scrawny one. But Orga's attention was drawn aside by a barrage of automatic fire that buried themselves into his hide.

Snarling in contempt, Orga unleashed a blast from his shoulder cannon that destroyed the catwalk that held the assaulting agents. Turing sharply, Orga brought the beam over the heads of the ones trying to escape, and obliterated the elevator shaft.

"LOOK OUT!" Betty screamed as chunks of concrete and steel rained down. Otto, too late in evading the debris, yelped in pain as a length of steel strut fell across his back and pinned him to the floor.

"Help me…" he pitifully muttered, his complexion paling. Betty and Bruce stooped down, and managed to lift it just enough to shove it off of Octavius' back.

"We have to leave the samples behind Betty" Bruce said, his face turned to where Orga was swatting away the gunfire of several more agents. "Get Octavius out of here."

"What are you going to do Bruce?" she asked, her tone implying that she knew exactly what he had planned.

Bruce began taking his lab coat off, not taking his stare away from the rampaging freak. "I don't know where that creature came from, but I have to stop it."

"So figure something out!" she scolded, the corner of her eyes filling with tears as she heaved Octavius' arm over her shoulder. "You're Bruce Banner! The smartest there is!"

"I know what you're saying Betty, but right now we need the other guy." Banner removed his glasses, and gave her one last glance. "Go."

Betty returned the look before hustling away where others were in heading towards an alternate escape route.

Several agents were scattered on the second floor as Orga leapt from below and landed among them, swinging his arms and snapping at those closest. Below, Bruce centered himself in the hanger, between the bodies of Mole Man's creatures.

"Hey!"

Orga slammed a man into the floor tiles with his massive claw, reacting to the voice. The alien looked down and recognized the strange human, now strangely presenting itself.

Unseen to any in the hanger, Orga's eyes focused on Bruce Banner, looking closer and closer, past his skin, past his blood, and into his cells. There Orga found something it had not seen since before its defeat. The sheer power within this humans cells made him salivate with anticipation.

Casting the limp body aside, Orga roared and vaulted back down to the lower floor, directly for Bruce. But as the alien sailed through the air, arms outstretched and maw agape, the puny human transformed into something else. Just as Orga was about to land, the Incredible Hulk struck an uppercut to the alien's jaw that sent him rocketing to the ceiling.

The Hulk roared, his shredded clothes strewn on the floor around him. With little effort, Hulk jumped upwards and met Orga as he descended, grappling and grunting all the way down. The two slammed into the floor in a crater, where Hulk rained blow after furious blow onto Orga. Temporarily satisfied, Hulk reared back and pounded his chest; " _ **RRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH! HULK SMASH!**_ "

But just as fast as Hulk had rearranged Orga's features, Orga put them back. The lingering ability of having amplified Godzilla's regenerative prowess allowed the Millennian mutant to recover from the earth-breaking hammering. Standing over his opponent, watching the grotesque process, Hulk grunted in confusion, understanding only dimly what was occurring.

With another bellow, Hulk brought down both fists to smash in Orga's snout, but his limbs were caught in the aliens own massive paws. Stalemated for a moment, Hulk and Orga glared at each other, Hulk's teeth bared. A single droplet of saliva coalesced in the corner of his mouth, and overcame its molecular bond to fall into Orga's maw.

In an instant, Orga's eyes went wide, the taste of the intense cellular power like a shot of adrenaline directly to his heart. Orga pushed Hulk's hands aside and lurched upwards, biting down on the shoulder of the jade giant.

Hulk roared, trying to fight off the bizarre Kaiju, but Orga adapted by the second, cloning the genes. His limbs became more muscular, his grip stronger, the siphoning of Hulk's abilities closing the gap between them. When Hulk finally managed to break free of the hold, he stumbled and held his head, the draining process having left him groggy. Through blurred vision he watched as Orga stood, its body morphing, becoming larger, more Hulk-like.

Hulk grumbled, trying to clear his sight; "Hulk still smash ugly monster!"

Vocal chords not being one of the new gifts, Orga shrieked as he charged forward, arms wide and mouth ready. Still dazed, Hulk struck out in reflex aiming to knock his voracious foe back down long enough to get himself straight.

But when the punch was thrown, instead of evading it, Orga moved to meet it, and caught the fist in his mouth. Even the Incredible one was suddenly confused by the counter, but with Orga's maw up to his elbow, he felt the draining start again. Holding off Hulk's other arm with his left, Orga used his right hand to grab around the waist, and lift Hulk of the ground.

Thinking quickly, Hulk brought his knees in and shoved both feet into Orga's jaw, breaking the two apart.

Orga staggered, growling in starved frustration. He readied himself for another go at his stubborn prey, but when he looked, the Hulk was gone. As Orga scanned frantically for his god-send meal, he didn't see the object directly above. Hulk slammed into Orga's back feet first, crushing his enemy down, and proceeding with another volley of pummeling. Hulk roared and Orga wailed, the resistance of his prey seemed endless.

Digging his fingers into the floor, Orga got his feet under him as Hulk's thunderous blows continued. Pushing off, the pair of them shot upwards; Orga spinning around to backhand Hulk and create distance. As gravity retook and they fell, Orga launched his shoulder cannon, and without the ground to aid inertia, Hulk was propelled into the ceiling.

Hulk hit the roof with a thud, and left a body imprint before dropping. Orga landed, and immediately sprung back up. The two met mid-air, and both struck home with punches before they tumbled down to the floor.

Orga grabbed Hulk in one hand, and slammed him face-first into the concrete floor. Hulk rolled and grabbed Orga's hand, swinging him over. Not letting go, Hulk stood and swung the alien overhead and into the ground. Hulk raised his arms to smash them both down, but a torrent of yellow power struck his face, and knocked him off his feet. Charging before Hulk could recover, Orga slammed into him shoulder first, and drove him against the base of Megataur's platform.

Pinning the living Gamma weapon against the wall, Orga bit down on Hulk's head, drinking in more power. Hulk responded with one upper-cut after another, until the hold broke, and used one more punch to the chest that sent Orga reeling. Leaping forward off his feet, Hulk struck Orga across the mouth, dislodging a lower jaw. Standing beside one of the bucket cranes used by the scientists to overlook the corpses of the giants, Hulk tore the arm from its base and swung it with the bucket striking Orga so hard it splintered.

Thrown bodily against a wall, Orga had to no time to counter the crane arm as it was heaved like a spear, going through his torso and lodging into the concrete. Orga slumped over, his head going slack. Hulk grunted, beat his chest, and turned. "Stupid monster."

He started to walk away, but a noise from behind turned him back. With both hands, Orga was pulling the crane out, and once done, his body shifted, jaw realigning with grotesque sounds, and the hole in his gut healed. Hulk exhaled with frustration, and grabbing Orga by his left arm, lifted and slammed the alien into the floor, sinking in a punch for good measure, and griping either mandible with both hands.

"Hulk break stupid monster! Stupid monster stay broke!"

Hulk began pulling the upper and lower jaws apart, intent on simply tearing his foe in twain. But Orga's mouth suddenly got wider on its own, doubling in width in an instant. The sight baffled Hulk, and before he could continue, Orga reached up, seized Hulk by the shoulders and brought them closer. The gaping maw coming down over Hulk's head and most of his chest.

Hulk struggled, but the longer Orga fed, the stronger he got. Out of desperation, Hulk grabbed hold of Orga's upper arms, and ripped them off. The alien wailed in agony as Hulk shoved away and pulled himself free. Hulk glared at Orga for a moment, his teeth grinding together in a furious sneer. Orga shrieked in defiance, and Hulk bellowed as he clapped his hands on either side of Orga's head so hard, the alien's skull warped into a cartoonish deformation.

Orga's body went limp and collapsed to the floor, his head now shaped like a mohawk with Hulk's handprints embedded in the sides. The Incredible Hulk grunted and turned away, still breathing heavily from the battle. His knees went weak for a moment, and he steadied himself against Megataur's platform. He put a hand to his head trying to shake off the dizziness. "Hulk… sleepy."

A grotesque mewling sound caused Hulk to turn back where Orga was reforming, its arms regenerating, head cracking and morphing. Hulk laid his back against the platform, slamming his fist into the metal in frustration. He walked back over to Orga and grasped the creature by its jaw, lining it up for another shot. But a torrent of yellow power erupted from Orga's shoulder and drove Hulk across the room.

Hulk was embedded into the wall, and left with a circular burn pattern across his chest. Orga spasmodically got back to its feet, its body and head jerking and morphing as it reformed in structure. The arms sprouting and branching fingers like budding plants in accelerated motion, the ends expanding into the massive claws that Hulk had just torn away.

The undeclared Avenger climbed out of the crater and fell to his knees, the siphoning of his strength taking its toll. But as Hulk glared back at his approaching foe, his determination surged and he pushed off of his fists, ready to fight again. However it was now Orga who sensed the fight was nearing an end as it felt the unbridled power coursing through its arms. The Millennian scout growled, its eyes narrowed on the feisty prey.

When they were at arm's length apart, Hulk threw a right punch, only to be caught in Orga's left claw. Hulk tried to power through it, but by now the alien's strength was enough to annul his own. The limb continued to reform around Hulk's fist, solidifying and expanding with the incorporation of the stolen might.

Hulk reeled back with his left, but a pulverizing blow from Orga's right to his chest stopped him cold. Sensing the advantage, Orga leaped into the air, pulling Hulk with him by his leg, arching the green goliath over its head. The alien landed first, the concrete and tiles shattering under its feet, then back first came down Hulk, creating a form-fitting impression in the floor.

The gamma infused genetics continued to course their way through Orga's body, increasing muscle mass, lengthening bones, its height rising by the second. The metamorphosis forced the Millennian monstrosity to grasp its head in its claws, trying to withstand the intense convulsions. A groan from his opponent drew his attention back to the fight, and with a slight bend of the knees, Orga leapt into the air, and came crashing down on Hulk's ribcage with all its weight.

Not finished, Orga began to drive its oversized mallet-fists into Hulk's face, pulverizing the ground underneath. After a few shots, the Avenger managed to get his hands in front of him but Orga grabbed both in one claw, pinned them to the floor above Hulk's head, and poured on the fury of its shoulder cannon at point blank range. A few seconds and the beam was spent, Hulk's arms limp in the melted mixture of cement and ceramic.

Breathing heavily, Orga scowled down to his foe, his irises focused to a point from the adrenaline in this state. Raising both balled fists above his head, and brought down both sledgehammers hard enough on Hulk to create a fissure underneath him. The entire facility trembled from the force of the blow, the echo reverberated off the walls into a thunderous cacophony, and bits of damaged structure crashed down from the ceiling.

Unmoving in the alien's shadow, the monster began to shrink, reverting back to Bruce Banner. As the transformation developed Orga recoiled, not understanding what was occurring before it. When finally the reversal was complete, Orga stepped away and wailed, no longer sensing the same power it craved. Instead his attention turned back to the two giant corpses on their slabs.

Leaving the puny human to lay in the crater, Orga approached the hand of Megataur, shuffling along on its knuckles like a gorilla. Once again his maw opened and the fleshy umbrella bloomed like a flower as he took in the closest finger. The tiny pairs of tendrils that were located along the perimeter of the opening clutched and clawed along Megataur's skin, taking in more and more.

He grew as he fed, becoming larger by the heartbeat, the flow of genetic material streaming into his cells fueling the regeneration. As the structure of the facility began to break apart, chunks of concrete falling, walkways collapsing, machines exploding, Orga knew only one thing, one desire: _consume_.

 **MURKY DEPTHS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN**

The embrace of the deep sea was a welcome feeling. Godzilla's eyes saw through the darkness with little problem, allowing him to see the submerged terrain and all it offered. There were a few underwater cities back home, and this world proved no different. Some time ago he had passed by several large domed metropolis sprawled across the ocean floor. He had detected the movement of their occupants in response to his approach, but after the fight with the humans on the surface, he had no interest in prodding another human nest.

He felt the elemental forces of this world; like a different flavor of a familiar food it was easily adapted to, but still slightly off. Nonetheless he could still tap into the strong and weak forces, sensing sources of energy, the movement of notable signs of life, and even the churning of the Earth's mantle. Annoyingly, he felt the pursuit of his old ally as she trailed him. Mothra worried after him too much Godzilla thought. He respected her role as guardian, and considered her one not to be trifled with, but the way she always tried to put herself between him and the humans was irksome. He would let her find him eventually, for now he just wanted to explore.

 _Movement…_

Below him there was activity on the floor. _Humans… down here?_ He could sense them, hundreds of them, but there was no sign of the machines they usually used to travel down here. Godzilla's curiosity was peaked, but he still had no intent on getting involved so he left them to whatever they were doing.

It's a common fact that sound travels faster through water than air, and even if not, Godzilla could have heard what was said.

"SEIZE THE BEAST!"

Though he had no understanding of speech, his natural instinct for a threat was triggered. Now the masses of the humanoids were ascending;

 _Strange…_ Godzilla thought, humans typically ran away from him.

A cacophony of detonations erupted below and the sound of objects racing through the water confirmed his suspicion that they were attacking. Godzilla grumbled, if battle is what they wanted, he would show them the meaning.

Watching from his position atop the sunken mountain, there stood an imposing figure with his arms crossed. The throne of Atlantis might elude him for the present, but if he could use this gigantic beast as a bludgeon on the city's defenses, then he could finally topple Namor once and for all. He would have what rightfully belonged to him at long last, and Attuma would reign over the oceans.

"Subdue the creature!" He bellowed, seeing his soldiers launch their cables designed to restrain large animals. The lines would wrap around his body and deliver a paralyzing shock. Once captured, they would enthrall it to their leash much as they had other mega-fauna that they had in reserve to unleash upon Atlantis one day.

"Soon I will have Namor under my heel, and Atlantis at my command." Attume smiled at the thought; "Perhaps I'll make a codpiece with his skull at the center."

Dozens more of the half-fish-half-humanoid creatures that comprised the aquatic warlords army swam towards the slow moving target. They approached in pairs, wherein one wore an apparatus on their back which launched the restraint cable, and the other manually aimed and fired it. Previously, they had imprisoned several other titan's of the deep, but this one outclassed them all, thusly all webbed-hands were taking part in its restraint.

Godzilla dove at a steep angle towards the beings who though to challenge him, and was met by a storm of metallic cables that entangled themselves around him. Like being covered in Christmas tinsel, it was bothersome but did no damage. The further he went in this game of chicken, the more relatively tiny cords clung to him.

The Skarkan soldiers who served Attuma, now aligned in whole battalions, continued to fire, darkening the sea above. But as Godzilla continued to bear down on them, a lot of nervous glances were traded among them. Usually the dumb beasts they captured reacted by now, thrashing to flee, but this one showed no sign of slowing down.

"Lord Attuma," began a soldier at the warlord's side anxiously; "we should start shocking the creature now!"

Not one who liked to be rushed, Attuma nonetheless saw the practicality in the suggestion; "Fine."

The order went out, and the relieved Skarkans manning the controls turned their dials all the way to the limit, sending a signal out to activate the charge. Their fear of being thrashed by the creature subsided as they felt assured that they were only moments away from watching it writhe in agony.

The mass of cables that now nearly covered Godzilla's body ignited with yellow energy, eliciting a sharp cry of pain, but little else. Arcs of the electrical charge crackled across his skin, being absorbed into his internal power reserves.

The ranks of Attuma's army panicked, having literally nothing better to fight the monster with. They scattered as Godzilla barreled through their positions, screaming to each other.

Attuma's body guards closed ranks around him, their weapons trained on the behemoth. The warlord grit his teeth, the same humiliating feeling of defeat he had incurred at the hands of the sub-mariner over the years bubbling to the surface again. Whatever this beast was he had no intention of letting it defy him, especially not in front of his men.

"Stand aside you lot of puffer-fish!" he scolded them, pushing his way out from behind their protection. "Let your king show you how to conquer!" He stretched out his right arm, palm open; "My sword!" At his command, two underlings approached, carrying an elongated golden casket. As Attuma kept his gaze on Godzilla, they knelt down at his side, lifting the box above their heads. Attuma reached down and lifted his sword from its place, hefting it in a single hand. He looked down and saw his reflection across the three blades.

"I will smite this beast and bend him to my will!"

Attuma launched himself upwards, his Atlantean physiology allowing him to soar through the water like a torpedo, his blade poised to strike. As he got closer, the bigger his target appeared, until it seemed as if a mountain had been dislodged and thrown into the ocean. A mountain with eyes that focused singularly on Attuma.

The exiled warlord brought his sword to bear as the gap rapidly closed, and at the last second brought it down on Godzilla's snout. The blade sparked upon contact with the dense material that comprised the monster's skin, deflecting the blow and lodging in between folds. Attuma found himself pressed against Godzilla's nose as it sped onward, unable to pull his sword free.

"This can't be! No-one stops Attu-!"

Godzilla swatted the irritating bug from his face.

 _Where are their machines? Where is something for me to fight?_

The apparent lack of an opponent was disappointing, just as everything else in this world had been so far.

Attuma spiraled through the water until he was caught by several of his soldiers, but he shook free of their grip. The blow to his body was uncomfortable, but the blow to his ego was intolerable.

"That thing will not make a shrimp out of me! ATTACK! EVERYONE ATTACK!"

The soldiers hesitated, only for their king to turn his fury on them, grabbing one in each hand and throwing them in Godzilla's direction; "I said attack you school of cowards!"

Godzilla paused in place, the thousands of the undersea humans now converging on him. They offered him no threat, but the cables still stuck to his body had to go. As the leagues of Skarkan encircled, Godzilla's dorsal plates flashed with blue energy.

The sign was not lost on the fish-men, who immediately began to backpedal. But their quick thinking was not fast enough, as a pulse of nuclear energy shot out from every inch of Godzilla's body, catching the solders in its wake. The wave caused them to tumble end-over-end in every direction. The metallic cables were either disintegrated or ejected fast enough to turn them into lethal projectiles, shredding through the bodies of dozens of the Skarkan, turning the water to chum.

A heavy _'uuuuunnnkk'_ sound filled the sea, Godzilla surveying the decimation of the attackers. He could sense whoever was left of the aggressors fleeing for their lives, a much more familiar feeling. But the sensation of water displacement off to his right showed that at least one of them had the courage to keep fighting.

Attuma struck the side of Godzilla's head hard enough to dislodge his sword. The punch landed on the cheek, and was delivered with such might it caused a shockwave, forcing even the monster's head aside.

"LOATHSOME BEAST! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS BATTLE UNBLOODIED! ATTUMA WILL NOT BE MADE A TRIFLE OF!"

Godzilla turned and fixed the irate Atlantean with a glare that could turn coal into diamond. Attuma, realizing the mistake he'd made recoiled, fearing the retaliation that was sure to come. His stubborn pride prevented him from fleeing, but he raised his hands in front of him in an instinctual defensive posture.

Instead of a overwhelming torrent of blue fire, from Godzilla's maw came a tremendous roar. Since water is a more efficient medium for sound, and since Atlanteans possess superior underwater hearing to humans, Attuma's own scream was utterly devoured by the monster's cry. Taking the roar at point blank range, holding his head in an attempt to keep it from exploding was all he could do to fight the pain he had previously imagined was impossible to inflict on him.

"MY EARS! MY EEEAAAARS!"

Attuma didn't know it, but the loss of his hearing was the least of his immediate problems. The agony in his head was such that he couldn't open his eyes, and thusly, never saw the two hands moving through the water around him.

Godzilla brought his hands together crushing Attuma between them, the thunderous echo of the slam trailed off into a mocking silence.

The hands came apart, and the once infamous bane of Atlantis began drifting downwards, blood trailing from various points on his motionless body. Hundreds of his Skarkan soldiers observed from afar as their fallen king descended to the bottom, the unblemished titan looming darkly, a shine in his eyes piercing through the murk.

Satisfied that the interesting challenger had been put down, Godzilla turned back towards the east, disappearing into the shadows of the deep.

As Attuma's body landed softly on the ocean floor, his Skarkan soldiers surrounded him, murmuring in whispers, afraid to get too close. His armor was crumpled in several places, broken in more. One of the horns of his helm had been broken off, the other was contorted and folded over itself. His face was passive and without expression, as if he were merely asleep.

A pair of solders approached carrying his sword, the third of it toward the front bent to the side. They lay the sword on his chest, the handle over his heart, and placed his hand on it just under the guard.

Those few around him reached down to lift his body, to carry it back home with reverence. Just as they knelt down, a sudden movement arrested them with surprise, and Attuma's hand tightened around the sword's grip.


	11. Chapter 11: Friends in High Places

**SHIELD Sub-Station**

Things were not good. Not good at all.

In the underground bunker of the make-shift headquarters, Cap stared at a wall sized display screen, a projection of Earth's continents with several pulsating red points across their face. Now not only was there two giant monsters from a parallel universe roaming unchecked, there were four. Just how the others could have gotten here without Richard's portal ticked at him fiercely, the prospect of another party orchestrating what amounted to an invasion on the world. The Earth was under siege.

On top of all that, Wakanda had been subject to an asteroid strike, that wasn't a real asteroid, causing all sorts of mysterious phenomena. And the facility housing the remains of the subterranean monsters had been attacked and demolished, by a creature that was capable of defeating the Incredible Hulk, and leaving Banner with barely enough vitality to keep breathing.

Suddenly on screen, a series of alerts highlighted a point in the middle of the Atlantic. Two data windows with stems connected to the same red dot, one on the left reporting the epicenter of a massive spike in radioactivity, the one on the right describing the epicenter of an underwater noise loud enough to be registered from pole to pole.

"Looks like Godzilla is making new friends already." Rogers mused, hoping in the back of his mind that whatever had occurred was nothing more than a brief skirmish, perhaps a tussle with another of this worlds native monsters.

Something else that ate at him was the continued absence of Hank McCoy, who was still on the other side of the wall. Over the few years that the Avengers had been working with the X-Men, he had grown to like and respect Beast, his maturity a welcome respite from the often rowdy dynamic of the Avengers, or the super-professional demeanor of SHIELD. Whatever his friend was doing over there, he just wished he'd get it done, the best, the brightest, and the strongest were going to be needed for this world-spanning emergency.

He even considered options that were usually off the table. The remaining Sentinels under Federal control were collecting dust in their holding facility, decommissioned since the end of Operation: Zero Tolerance. There were even a few 'Nuclear options' as he liked to think of them, super powered individuals of such capacity they might single-handedly beat one of these monsters. But they were kept under lock and key for everyone's protection, unleashing them might open a Pandora's box of terrible outcomes. What options were left then? Let them run amok until they got tired and went home? Their ranks were stretched thin as it was, and that's including those who stood no chance against such powerful creatures.

No good options, nothing until Stark or Richards came through with a solution. They were on the defensive, reacting instead of initiating; which was the worst feeling for Steve Rogers, distinctly not liking being in the position of weakness. The barely organized state of his temporary command center a visual metaphor for SHIELD after just a single encounter with Godzilla; humbled.

He placed his hands on the counter that ran along the bottom of the display screen, letting his head hang after the long hours of stress.

"Why couldn't it have been Hydra? And nice, simple, Hydra attack?"

* * *

 **XAVIER INSTITUTE**

It was coming. He could feel it. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Charles Xavier wheeled through the halls of his home, trying to construct some plan that amounted to more than gathering his students in the bunkers below the mansion. Wolverine was off on sabbatical, searching in the Canadian wilderness for answers to the questions of his past. Colossus was visiting family in Russia, a well deserved vacation for one of his most loyal X-Men. Storm was with her husband in Wakanda, dealing with their own predicament. Beast, his trusted confidant, was a world away.

Aside from a dozen students, Jean was the only member of his team on hand, and she was still recovering from her encounter with Godzilla, hardly in any condition to fend off a being like the one that was on course for the mansion. Xavier tried to remember the meeting at the Baxter Building, and he had a strong feeling that this creature was from the other world. Going into his own mind, he could not find any part of the memory of that day in which the image of this crystalline fiend appeared in the sequence of that world's monsters. He had no idea what he was dealing with.

"Professor?"

The voice startled him, snapping Xavier back into the present. He came to a stop a few paces away from Jean Grey, who leaned in the doorway to one of the classrooms, giving him a concerned look.

"Jean, you should be resting."

"Can't sleep professor." She said softly, looking to the floor. "Scott's out there, Godzilla's out there, it's mentally exhausting but I can't bring myself to stay still for five minutes."

Xavier offered no reply, staring off to the side in thought. Jean saw that something was weighing on him, and came to a knee before his chair, placing a hand on his.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

Instead of telling her, Charles placed his own right hand on the side of her face, and allowed her mind to see what he saw with Cerebro, but he did keep from her the initial images of fire and destruction sent by the entity in the asteroid.

In her mind, she saw the landscape of crystal towers, miles after miles of the gleaming spires. The voice, dripping with malice and sinister intelligence, speaking as a predator might speak to its prey. Then the face, emerging from the amorphous form of the psyche, it's eyes gleaming, its face almost grinning.

 _That face!_ She thought, it looked like Godzilla, but mutated. The facial structure was slightly thinner, but it was undeniable.

"I thought the same thing." Xavier said flatly, "This creature possess a formidable psychic profile, and if he is related to Godzilla somehow, then there's no telling how dangerous he could be."

"What do we do professor? How do we stop him?"

"I don't know if we can Jean. We'll get the students underground, and try to maintain communication with the Avengers."

Jean stood and turned away from her mentor, a scary thought bubbling to the surface of her mind.

"Professor, do you think… that I might have to let out-"

"It won't come to that Jean," Xavier interrupted, scooting to her side, "No matter what happens."

Despite his own fear, not just for the young mutants entrusted to his house, but for the Earth as a whole, mutant and human alike, a guilty thought crossed his mind, and was dashed away just as quick. _What might he do in this situation?_ he asked himself, trying to picture how the master of magnetism would combat such a foe.

The sound of helicopters moving above the mansion drew their attention to a window that opened to the courtyard, where the winds caused by the twin rotors buffeted the curtain. A long-bodied black craft touched down on the lawn, the emblem of SHIELD on the side was shifted when the door opened, allowing several agents to climb out. The last man, lean and sporting a crew-cut of grey hair made a b-line for the double doors that faced the quad.

Xavier and Jean met him at the entrance as he approached, his men establishing a security perimeter around the area. The pale man, dressed like his men but bearing the air of a hardened vet offered a short smile.

"Professor Xavier, I'm Special Agent Seth Makon," he spoke in a rough voice; "we're here under the direct order of Captain Rogers to offer you and your students a ride out of here. Other SHIELD teams and local units are evac'ing the county, but my team has been tasked specifically with seeing the X-Men to safety. We'll take you to a secure location, where you'll be provided for until the threat is neutralized."

A stunned Charles Xavier was stuck for words. Here he had though that the mutants were on their own, but a life-preserver in the form of a SHIELD helicopter felt like the vindication of his years of petitioning for peace.

"Thank you Agent Makon, It'll just be a few minutes."

Makon was about to respond when his face changed, and he put a finger to his ear, listing intently to the voice coming through his comlink. Suddenly his expression turned to shock. He whistled sharply, a command that each of his men understood reflexively, proved by their swift movement to enter the mansion.

"Whatever the hell is coming down just jettisoned several crystal meteorites, we have five minutes before this place is pockmarked. Get your kids out here now."

Without wasting a second more, Xavier closed his eyes, reaching his mind out to the students in the mansion. The imagery in his head flashed through Danielle Moonstar, the young Bobby Drake, and several others " _Everyone, get to the courtyard immediately, run! Now!"_

Thousands of feet above their heads, the sterling crystal shards cut through the atmosphere, absorbing the thermal heat as they reached terminal velocity. Bolts of white energy sparking along their surface.

On the ground, Xavier, Jean, and Agent Makon stood at the door to the helicopter, watching as the young mutants were hustled aboard by the SHIELD operators. The last of them, trailing behind the final student stopped in his tracks and pointed to the sky.

Makon and Jean craned their necks upwards to see the fiery bottoms of the crystals directly above them.

"HURRY! GET IN!" Jean shouted as the last few people ducked their heads under the rotor blades. Several hundred yards to the south, the first of the meteorites landed, a crystal iceberg embedding itself in the ground, throwing up a tsunami of dust, debris, and a shower of brilliant luminous sparks. The shock tilted the helicopter to a dangerous angle, the blades briefly cutting into the lawn before settling back on its legs.

Taking the opportunity, Jean used her telekinesis to lift Xavier's chair onto the helicopter, before she and Makon climbed in themselves. Lifting off the ground, the craft was hit by the wind of another crashing crystal, nearly bowling it over and forcing the occupants to hold on for dear life. Bobby Drake threw a stream of ice connecting his headmaster's chair to the floor, preventing him for being tossed from his seat. "Buckle-up professor!"

Xavier did so, a second before the fuselage pitched to the right.

"Hang on back there! It's gonna get a bit hairy!" called the pilot, doing his best to assure his passengers.

Jean clung to the handles, glancing back to see Danni Moonstar in her seat with her knees tucked into her chest, and her eyes shut in fear. _She's not wrong_ Jean thought. Other students were not faring much better, clutching at their restraints like a safety blanket.

Then she felt it.

Her legs buckled as the harbinger of the malignant entity's psychic presence hit her. Much like Godzilla, its mind was far more powerful than that of mere humans, possibly on par with the professor. But unlike the former, the magnitude of its psychic aura wasn't latent, it was rolled out like the first wave of an invading army, probing and searching.

"LOOK OUT!" One of the SHIELD agents screamed, and the pilot jerked the controls to the left, but it was too late.

A crystal berg came down, the helicopter narrowly avoided being crushed against its underside by a few feet. A discharge of blinding cosmic voltage reached out from the side of the space mineral, and struck the rotor mast, warping the gears and electrifying the craft. Sparks and flames erupted as the control panel burst in the faces of the pilot and co-pilot, throwing the chopper into a downward spiral. Agent Makon used his body to keep two students from being tossed against the wall, gripping onto handles with white knuckles.

"JEAN! TRY TO STEADY THE CRAFT!"

Holding on for her own dear life, Jean closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, trying to visualize the tumbling helicopter and its relation to the ground.

The crystal struck the ground, forcing upwards its own upsurge of debris that capsized the out-of-control Chinook. Jean fell shoulder first against the sliding door, her face pressed onto the window. Through the still whirring blades she opened her eyes to see the ground rushing up to meet them, covered as it was now by displaced earth. What broke her heart in the instant however, was the sight of more than half of the mansion crushed and buried under the 7-story crystal.

The shock focused her mind, and placing her palm on the window, she began slowing the decent of the helicopter.

The craft came to a sudden stop two meters above the ground, the blades slicing into the lawn until the effort wore down their momentum. She panted out loud, realizing just how close they all came to a terrible end.

Anyone injured?" Agent Makon asked, his complexion nearly as white as his hair.

The cabin filled with mummers, but no cries of pain. Until Moonstar opened her eyes and saw the Professor Xavier frozen in position, gazing off into absent space.

"Professor are you alright?" she asked.

She would never get her answer. Something gigantic struck the earth nearby, something far heavier than the crystals.

Jean lowered the helicopter to the ground, the metal complaining as its weight settled.

Bobby Drake perked his head up, trying to look out the nearest window; "What was that?"

A piercing wail transformed into a menacing grumble, and the crystals around them started to pulse with inner light, bolts of white lightning cracked from the tips.

She could feel the monster's shadow looming over them, it knew they were huddled inside, battered and terrified. Jean could feel that it was waiting for them, like a cat poised just outside the mouse hole, claws ready to pounce.

Then a new force took hold of the helicopter, dragging it along the ground with some intangible tether.

Jean seized the door with her telekinesis, forcing it screaming open against the gears. Bobby stepped forward, throwing a stream of ice in front of the helicopter, creating a blockage. But the pull was too strong, and the mass of ice was shattered.

"GET OUT!" Makon yelled, alarmed at having absolutely no control over the situation. "

One by one the passengers jumped out, rolling as they hit the ground. The helicopter hit a bump, causing Danni to hesitate at the threshold until Agent Makon grabbed her from behind and launched them out.

Bobby was about to go when he looked back, a worried look on his face for Xavier. Jean put a reassuring hand on his should, letting him know that she'd take care of their mentor. The young X-Man leapt out of the craft atop a track of ice towards where the SHIELD agents had formed a protective ring around the students.

Jean spared the dead pilots a final glance before stretching a hand out for the professor. The ice holding his chair in place splintered and broke apart, and she lifted the apparatus through the door ahead of her. Xavier was still catatonic as the helicopter slid past them, before being lifted into the air and thrown away.

Only now could Jean finally see what had caused all the devastation, what had nearly sent them to a fiery death only moments ago. With the field of crystal spires and the burning mansion in his shadow, SpaceGodzilla towered, the sun behind him making the quartz blocks on his shoulders glow. He glared down at the fleeing humans, sensing their desperation, their anger, their fear. He usually considered these creatures below his notice, insignificant bacteria outside of the machines they built. But this world was different, here they possessed minds capable of reaching out to him.

Once such was doing that now, trying its best to forge a mutual level of connection, an amusing thought, like an ant trying to speak to a tidal wave. _This world_ , SpaceGodzilla thought, _will be mine._

* * *

 **BAXTER BUILDING**

 _What have I done?_

Reed Richards sat on the chair in his lab, several video feeds were arranged in a half-circle across the face of a larger screen, displaying various scenes. One showed the twisted wreckage of the Triskelion still crawling with workers. Another showed a crane lifting rubble out of the decimated underground SHIELD facility, smoke rising from the pit, survivors in bloodied clothes being treated by medical personnel.

He tilted his head towards another screen, detailing where an asteroid had punched through the atmosphere and landed in Wakanda, without the expected annihilation. Back in New York on the next feed, were crews working to clear the damage caused by Mole-Man's monsters and their thrashing at Godzilla's hands. Explosions on yet another screen drew his attention, where a monster he identified as Gigan walked through a cloud of fire and smoke that used to be part of Beijing. its gleaming optical spewing a blast of crimson energy that shredded an office building.

The monitor that had featured the Triskelion now switched to the live news feed from Connecticut, where building-sized crystal spires dotted a landscape. In their midst stood a blue behemoth, rows of the same crystals along its back, and jutting from its shoulders. It looked remarkable like-

"Godzilla…"

Reed took his tablet in hand, searching through files until, he found what he desired, and threw the data up onto the main display. Several photos of SpaceGodzilla manifested along with information modules about his attack on the other Earth more than a decade earlier.

In the back of his mind he thanked himself for looking into the Godzilla Prediction Network during his night's stay in Tokyo. In fact, he had been researching thoroughly the underground group's profiles on Kaiju great and small, fascinated by the variety of strange creatures that populated their world. Several theories about their origin ran through his mind, alien panspermia, extra-dimensional contact, hell, even downright magic. Then again, there lived and breathed a multitude of mutants, both born and created in the world he already knew, who's to say similar forces weren't the cause.

Looking again into the eyes of the space-borne menace, Reed saw in them something of a reflection. Scanning through the proposed hypotheses of SpaceGodzilla's creation; whereas Reed was transformed by his contact with cosmic radiation, the monster was likely created the way he is. Mr. Fantastic wondered just what kind of celestial horizons the xeno-beast had witnessed while traversing the stars, driven by instinct from the moment of its conception to seek out its genetic kin for a fight to the death.

So far all his efforts had done was exacerbate the problem, and every solution he considered came paired with a disastrous outcome to undermine it. Sending Godzilla to some other dimension could destroy him, but it could also result in some unforeseen twist of fate that makes him more powerful than ever, or merely passing the problem off. The Negative Zone was tempting, but being saturated by the cosmic energies there, too risky.

Shrinking Godzilla presented an interesting alternative. At the size of a cat, or even a bear, the monster could be contained and studied. Though if the process worked like the Pym Particles, the side effect would be a being of such concentrated power, merely walking around in confinement could destroy buildings. Aside from weighing enough to make him virtually un-liftable. And there was always the prospect that the effects could only be temporary.

Reed had run through the list of methods used to defeat him before, documented with surprising detail by the GPN. Freezing, black holes, poison, electrocution, even having his secondary brain destroyed, but nothing stuck. Godzilla had overcome everything thrown against him. Except one, the Oxygen Destroyer.

The exact composition of the chemical compound had never been reproduced, despite amazing leaps in other fields of technology. Perhaps they were unwilling to revive yet another weapon who's only function seemed to be death. But its first and only fielding was under extreme circumstances, lacking the sort of rigorous beta testing and analysis that could have turned the Oxygen Destroyer into something useful. No disrespect to the gifted Dr. Serizawa of course, but from the account in Steve Martin's book, whatever testing he had preformed was burned.

The discovery of micro-oxygen in the mid '90's was a promising lead, but the unintended side-effects… well, they got really bad. But it ate at Reed that tragic events prevented the advance of these scientific marvels. It was an unfortunate reality that people often let their emotions get the better of them, and history will forever be without all the amazing accomplishments that might otherwise have been. But due to some moral objection or fear of the progeny, they stayed their hand. Kept their mouth shut to make sure that the secrets of their discovery remained secret.

If only such a device could be reproduced to confront this plague of destructive monsters, giving back to mankind the means to protect itself. If only there was such a person capable of resurrecting the Oxygen Destroyer. _There is…_ Reed thought in a moment of realization, … _I can do it._

* * *

 **STARK TOWER**

"Sir, are you sure you don't want to just build a bigger suit?"

"Don't be ridiculous JARVIS, you have any idea how long that would take to build?"

Tony Stark stood in the center of his mechanics lab, surrounded by a holographic funnel that formed an 'eye of the storm' around him. His eyes darted up and down, back and forth between blueprints and data windows. His hands moved across the displays adjusting their size, dismissing, rearranging.

"Approximately two months, one week, and four days, Sir."

"And does it look like we can wait two months while giant monsters destroy cities across the world?"

"No Sir, but it is where you're going to end up isn't it?"

Tony pondered the thought for a moment, his hand hovering millimeters away from touching a window. He imagined himself in a suit as big as a building, poised for battle standing across from Godzilla. But when he pictured Godzilla's face in his mind, the snarling teeth, the glint of fury in the eye, he felt his pulse quicken, and an oncoming sense of lightheadedness.

"Are you alright Sir? You're showing sign of an anxiety attack."

Tony shook his head to clear away the daze, "I'm fine JARVIS, just a little side-effect of getting my can handed to me by a prehistoric relic. Do you have any idea how upsetting that is for a futurist?"

"Devastating, Sir."

"Exactly."

Tony brought several windows together, creating a single schematic for a machine that resembled a giant floating forearm and hand, with a repulsor in the palm. Each fingertip ended in a conductor, which as the holographic demonstration played-out, cast streams of energy towards the center creating an pentagonal artifact in the light. When the beam from the repulsor shot out, it struck the light construct and was refracted into a narrower stream.

Reading the data window that appeared and the numbers within, Tony smiled, satisfied with the estimated output of the satellite beam.

"There, that should even the odds a bit."

"Sir, some of the modifications to VERONICA will require you to make the

adjustments manually."

"I figured. Give me the O-A Mark 3, and prep the tool set."

"Yes Sir. "

Around Tony, the holographic tube dissipated, concentric lights on the floor coming to life illuminating the one-of-a-kind garage. Rising from its compartment, the pod containing the Outer Atmospheric suit met its waiting creator, the silver and red of its design gleaming.

"Well, no time to create a giant death ray from space like the present."

* * *

 **WAKANDA**

For the first time, howling winds and the bitter embrace of sub-zero temperatures battered the jungle wild-lands of the isolated African nation. its King, T'Challa, protected mostly by his Black Panther suit looked back to make sure his scouting party was still behind him. In his tacks he saw the several warriors and scientists hugging their bodies to keep warm. They trudged through the rising snow drift, the warriors brandishing their usual Vibranium tipped spears, with modern rifles slung across their backs. The scientists with packs of data recording and sampling equipment.

Closest behind him was N'dele, who kept his face forward despite the sting of the frozen particles whipping through the air.

Above them all, The Queen of Wakanda, Ororo hovered in the center of the maelstrom, silently commanding the wailing gale, her eyes glowing white. The sky around her a swirling, roiling mass of grey clouds and torrents of snow and sleet beside her.

Though visibility through the hail was reduced to a few meters, Black Panther's HUD within his mask told him that the space-object was still ahead of them, giving off heat levels that defied the arctic hurricane wrapped around it. The strange phenomena was not limited to its inexplicable thermals either.

All around them, the vegetation not covered in snow was showing signs of decay, not damage from the cold, but accelerated degradation. The green turned to rotting, brittle matter, trees stripped of their foliage black with death. Back when his team had entered the area, animals fled in droves from the jungle, scrambling over one another to escape some terror.

"It's not much further!" T'Challa yelled back, trying to maintain their spirits. He saw the look in their eyes, the chill was sapping their strength and they showed signs of fatigue. He had to admit, he too was starting to feel weak. The strength granted to him by Bast made him far more resistant than the normal man, but even that had its limits. Something about this asteroid was reaching out to them, radiating, poisoning them.

But nothing should. As they approached, the various devices they carried with them gave no indication of any hazardous effect. There was no sign of increased radiation levels, toxicity, poison gas, infectious spores. Nothing to account for the ruin of the plant life and the sickening claw that was digging into his gut.

The foreboding urge plagued him for the next few miles, as did the devastation to the landscape. Instead of being bent outward from the epicenter, they were bowed towards it. About now he was really regretting not having extra vehicles available. The pair of jeeps they had started out with died when their electrical systems burned out not long after they approached the danger zone, leaving them to lug their gear on foot.

He continued his march, forcing his feet through the piling snow. His right foot came down atop a small rock, but he found himself unable to adjust his balance in time, and stumbled, falling to his hands and knees. In an instant, N'Dele and a warrior were at his side, helping him to stand. Dizziness warped his vision, as he was suddenly unable to keep himself vertical. He fell to his right side, and this time, took the other two with him.

Others rushed to them, and he heard the sound of their voices around him in a wash of unintelligible audio. A hand gripped his, trying to pull him up, but half-way he had to pull his mask up over his mouth, acidic vomit pouring out to the snow. In a moment of clarity, it occurred to him that if he was feeling the effects to this degree, his men could be no better.

He reached to his belt line and retrieved a particular dagger, one not made of Vibranium, but of another kind of extraterrestrial metal. The blade was short, not meant for killing but for the simple act of slicing, on it was etched a series of runes **.**

He put the bade between his teeth to hold it as he removed his right glove. His comrades around him stumbling into the snow, he knew there was little time left before the sickness would render them immobile. He took the knife and drew the blade across his right palm, exposing his blood to the air. As he did so, he muttered the summons that he hoped would reach the intended ears in time.

"Blood-Brother, I call to thee in my hour of need."

T'Challa collapsed back into the snow atop his comrades, his arms out to his sides, the blade falling from his hand. He lay there, eyes to the sky, but seeing instead the last few vague glimmers of light surrounded by the blackness. But he felt a rumbling in the ground beneath him, something casing a quake in increasing power. Suddenly the remaining light became more intense, nearly blinding, and he felt a warm glow sweep over him.

* * *

 **GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN**

 **YEARS AGO**

The doors to the emergency ward burst open as a paramedic and two nurses wheeled in a gurney carrying a bloodied black man, his clothes torn and stained with filth. His button-up shirt was opened, a massive bandage and gauze patch soaked through in crimson.

"He's losing too much blood!" A nurse yelled, using her hands to keep pressure on the wound.

"The saline isn't going to be enough to make-up for it!" The worried paramedic declared.

As they crashed through another set of doors into the surgical wing, a blond haired doctor limped alongside them with his cane.

"I'm a universal donor, we get him on the table and we can start a direct transfusion."

"A little extreme isn't it Dr. Blake?"

"Too much saline will dilute his blood, he's gonna need the real thing."

A minute later the injured man was on the table, the surgical nurses removing the gauze and cleaning his chest. Next to him, sat Dr. Blake on the gurney, his jacket off and his left sleeve rolled-up past is elbow, another nurse preparing the lines for the transfusion.

The surgeon entered, his hands raised in front of them to keep them from touching anything that might contaminate the gloves. He stopped, staring at his colleague; "Dr. Blake I doubt you sanitized yourself on the way in here."

"So kick me out if you think that'll improve his chances." Dr. Blake gave the surgeon a neutral tone, calling his bluff.

"Just don't touch anything." the masked doctor said before continuing on to the side of his patient.

"Alright everyone," The surgeon began, "Let's save this man."

The next morning, the injured man lay in bed, the sun warming his face as it streamed in through the window. His heart rate monitor beeping steadily beside him.

He groaned through his oxygen mask, consciousness at last returning to him. His right arm still laden with tubes and bandages, he reached-up and removed the apparatus, extracting the intubation tube from his trachea. He choked as his throat was cleared and he was able to breathe fresh air.

"You're a fighter Mr. Charles."

Slowly, Luke Charles opened his eyes. The room around him was blurry but well-lit. leaning against a table opposite the bed with a clipboard and papers in hand, Dr. Blake watched him come around.

"You lost a lot of blood last night, you should be recovering for a week with the damage that bullet caused."

Luke gave him a weary expression; "I work out." he managed.

Blake chuckled, "Good morning Mr. Charles, I'm doctor Donald Blake. I'd like to ask you how a respectable high-school teacher like you wound up with a bullet in your chest, and beaten to a pulp in an alley?"

Luke hesitated to respond, his breathing still labored. "I was.. * _cough_ * I was in the parking lot after school, and a… a boy, Kevin, from one of my classes was being cornered by some local thugs, 'bout five of them."

Dr. Blake's face grimaced, coming away from the table he used his cane to help him over to the bedside.

"He was a good kid;" Luke continued, "So I knew he must have been in trouble. I approached to try and get him away, but they got between me and Kevin. They held me back while the alpha took a few shots at him, and stole his backpack. I probably should have just stayed there to help Kevin, but once they all fled, I pursued them down the street to get the bag back.

I caught up to them in an alley, in there they finally turned on me. I'm no slouch you understand, and when they came at me, I was able to fight my way through 'em. Their leader was the last one standing, and when he realized he was in for a taste of his own medicine, he got scared, pulled out a gun, and shot me.

I went down, and the rest of 'em got their licks in. The last thing I remember is holding my chest and them kicking me."

Dr. Blake thought for a moment. The man laying in the bed before him was of exceptional character, if not just in exceptional physical condition.

"Well, you're good Samaritan effort paid off. Turns out it was Kevin who found you and called 9-1-1. He saved your life."

Luke closed his eyes and smiled, "I knew he was a good kid."

"Anyway," Blake continued, looking down and flipping through the papers on the clipboard, "Kevin gave the police a description of the men, and they're being looked for now. As for you… The bullet didn't damage anything vital, and you can be released on your own volition tomorrow, as soon as your feeling up to it. You did lose a lot of blood, so I recommend you stay the night."

Luke rolled his head to the side, settling in and getting comfortable. "Sounds good then Doc."

The next afternoon, Dr. Blake and Mr. Charles exited the hospital, Donald holding the door open for Luke.

Luke held a hand to his chest as he stepped outside. "I can't thank you enough Doc, for picking-up some cloths for me, and giving me a ride home. You really go above and beyond don't you?"

Blake smiled as they made their way through the parking lot, "I don't consider my job done until the patient is back home. And please, just Donald."

"Well Donald, next time I get in over my head, or I'm just having a barbecue, I'll know who to call."

They shared a chuckle, before a voice stopped them.

"Hey old man."

Donald and Luke turned to see a group of five young black men approaching them, dressed in nearly stereotypical street thug baggy clothes.

"Is this them?" Donald whispered into Luke's ear.

"Yeah." he confirmed.

The leader of the gang spat to the side, "Heard you was still kickin'. Heard the cops was lookin' for us."

Luke tried to step forward but he doctor's hand across his chest held him back. Taking a deep breath, Donald took a few steps toward the men.

"Gentlemen, there's no need for-"

The leader lashed-out and backhanded Dr. Blake, knocking him to his knees, where another of the gang kicked the cane out of his hand.

"My cane!" Donald yelled as he reached for his tool, but a swift kick to the side of his head put him on his back.

Luke's teeth clenched in rage, "You boys waste your time playing at being tough, think roaming around beating people makes you some big-shot."

One of the thugs came to stand in front of him, almost nose-to-nose, but he was unafraid. "But you got no idea what tough is."

The thug snarled, and put both hands on Luke's chest to shove him back, but a short right hook hitting at the back of his jaw dropped him before he could draw his arms back.

Luke stood there as his attacker fell to the ground, his face smacking into the pavement.

Two of the others rushed forward and seized Luke by the arms, pinning him to a van with no little amount of effort on their part. A third came up, and after fighting through Luke's kicking legs, began a series of shots into his stomach.

The leader picked-up the cane, slapping it into the palm of his hand.

"you're gonna learn to mind yo' own business!"

He approached the downed doctor Blake, his arm raised above his head, ready to bring the cane down violently.

At the last moment, Luke broke free of the lackey's hold, throwing his body between them just far enough to grab the other end of the cane, and wrench it free.

As all four of the thugs turned their fury on Luke, the cane clattered to the ground, inches away from Blake.

The sound stirred Donald to open his eyes, and he saw his patient being pummeled by blow after blow from their attackers. The cane between him and the fray, and reaching out, clenched his fist onto it. Turning the stick vertical, he struck it against the pavement.

A booming thunderclap blew the four criminals off their feet, and a column of light descended from the sky, and sent a pulse of energy outward.

His lips busted, and forehead scraped, Luke couldn't understand what he was seeing as he tried to hold himself off the ground, looking to where Doctor Blake had been laying, but was now engulfed in the glowing pillar. "What?"

All five of the thugs began to get to their feet, not just astonished, but terrified by the supernatural event before them. A booming voice spoke.

"Thou craven lot would attack the injured and crippled? Such cowardice is worthy of a swift and exacting penance. So tell me…"

The pillar faded, and where Blake had been now stood a tall man, rippling with muscles, long blond hair, and dressed in scale armor and a flowing red cap. Donning his head was a metal helmet, bearing flared bird wings on either side. And in his hand was not a cane, but a short handled heavy-headed sledge hammer.

The thugs gawked at him, not believing in the chiseled figure standing before them.

"Who is first to face justice at the hand of Thor?"

Cautiously, the leader got to his feet, glancing among his men, not wanting to show fear in front of them. He met Thor's eyes, but looked away, unable to match his nerve to the task.

Thor grinned. "ah, the leader of the band rises to the challenge! You may take the first blow against the prince of Asgard, but make it a good one."

The leader's breathing became rapid as he screwed his courage. He took a knife from the back of his pants, and charged. He held the handle with the blade down, and slammed it into Thor's neck. But the knife was deflected off the skin, and wound-up cutting himself. Holding his bleeding hand, the leader gazed up at Thor, his lips quivering, his eyes wide in terror.

"A valiant effort." Thor commended, before smacking the man with an open palm, and sending him flying into the back of an SUV. "But lacking."

With their pack alpha dispatched, the other four men scrambled to get away, climbing over themselves in the process.

"You too will taste the bite of Mjolnir!" Thor said, leveling his hammer in their direction. Four bolts of lightning shot out from the weapon, striking each of them in the back and dropping them where they stood.

Luke Charles stared at his former doctor with amazement, the shadow of the hero falling over him. Thor turned and knelt down to speak with him, "Your bravery Luke Charles, has saved us this day. For if not for your courage, we both mayhaps have been slain. Lay on your back."

Too stunned to object, Luke rolled onto his back, and Thor placed Mjolnir over his breast bone. Before his very eyes, the hammer glowed with a soft blue nimbus, and he felt a calming warmth flow throughout his body. After a few moments, the pain from the beatings and the gunshot had subsided, his wounds ceased bleeding.

Thor took his hammer away, and held out a hand to help Luke to his feet.

"Know this mortal, thou and the healer Donald Blake share a special bond: for he hath shed his blood to keep thee alive, the blood of Thor Odinson courses through thy veins. We are blood brothers you and I, for we owe to each other our lives. Should thee ever be in grave danger again, you may call upon me with this."

Producing a small dagger from the side of his boot, Thor handed it to Luke.

"Use this to draw the blood we share, and I will answer."

"Thank you." was all Luke could muster as Thor stood back.

"Stay strong in the ways of valor and honor, Luke Charles, teacher of the young."

Thor raised Mjolnir, and began spinning it above his head. The column of light came down once more to surround the Asgardian, and after a moment, it faded to reveal Dr. Blake.

The two men stood a few feet from each other, looking around at the still unconscious gangsters.

Finally, Luke broke the silence, "I thought doctors were supposed to 'do no harm'?"

Donald merely shrugged; "Thor's not a doctor."


	12. Chapter 12: The Battle of Beijing!

**WAKANDA**

 **PRESENT DAY**

"The frost of winter suits you ill T'Challa."

He came awake with a deep inhalation, Black Panther's upper body surging off the bed, his chest heaving. His mask was off, and Storm was kneeling beside him in a heartbeat.

"Husband! You have not passed into the next world!"

"He was close to death, not only delirium."

Nearby, Thor sat on a chair. They were all in the chamber back in the royal palace. It was now night, and a slight breeze wafted in, jostling the curtains. T'Challa put a hand to the side of his head, sweat beading on his brow.

"What happened?" he asked between breaths.

Thor stood, and walked over, "I found you and your men defenseless in the snow, your minds might be lost forever if I hadn't pulled you all out."

"I tried to call you, my love," Storm lamented, holding her husband's head in her arm, "But something was jamming the communicator."

T'Challa thought for a few seconds, trying to recollect, "We were getting close, but…there was something…"

"A malevolent force occupies your land." Thor announced. "And it emanates from that accursed rock. Mortals such as yourself cannot withstand its presence."

"How long was I out?" Panther asked, still reeling.

Storm put a hand over his heart, "Several hours, and the asteroid has grown, much."

"Thor," T'Challa pleaded, "Do you have any idea what this thing is?"

The Asgardian stepped over to the window, his hammer swinging from his waist. "I have seen many things in the nine realms, increasingly so recently, for there has been much turmoil. But I have never encountered a thing like the one that threatens Wakanda now. I fear there is little chance that Midgard is capable of defending itself from such an evil."

"The world is under siege Thor." Storm interjected; "In the last two days, at least four gigantic beasts have appeared, throwing the planet into chaos. I fear that another lies in wait inside that terrible asteroid. And if it is as powerful as it is vile, the Earth itself could be consumed in a war against them."

Thor grimaced, the larger implications unsettling. "Indeed, Midgard is not immune to the upheaval plaguing the realms. We must waste no more time then."

Thor took Mjolnir in hand; "Stay here and raise the city's defenses. I will go out and put an end to this thing before it is unleashed."

He swung the hammer in a circle, and used it to propel him through the window, and far in the direction of the malefic space-rock.

"What if he fails?" Storm asked, still looking towards the window. T'Challa put his hand over hers, "If he fails… Then Wakanda will fight to the last breath."

Flying over the jungle, Thor was deeply disturbed by what he saw. With the snow and ice melted, the radius of desiccation had expanded since he had collected his blood-brother and the others. The trees and brush were dried to blackness, there was not even the smell of rotting vegetation. Nothing but death.

It might have been much more difficult to see the forest floor if not for the soft glow radiating from the asteroid, which now dominated the landscape. It pulsated with a ruddy pink light from its core, giving Thor the distinct impression that the host was preparing to emerge, which meant he had to destroy this thing as soon as possible.

Thor paused in the air, hovering above the meteorite. Despite the toughness granted by his Asgardian biology, and the strength of the Odinforce to protect against evil, he could feel the pervasive energy, like waves crashing against him.

"Wherever you are from, whatever you may be, you will bear your evil on this world no longer!"

He held Mjolnir above his head with both hands, thunder cracking in the sky and lightning streaking down to connect to the hammer. More bolts joined in, until more than a dozen separate arcs converged at the single point.

"I CAST YOU OUT!"

Thor hurled Mjolnir directly at the center of the smoldering asteroid, the throw so forceful, the metal turned red from heat created by the air friction. The tethers of lighting following it along.

The hammer struck the rock's surface with a tremendous ear-splitting shockwave, flattening trees for hundreds of meters around as the force dispersed outwards. Thor used his forearm to guard his face from the shower of debris and blinding flash of light. The initial _THOOM_ of the strike was followed by a sharp cracking, fissures spreading across the surface of the asteroid.

Thor caught the returning Mjolnir in his hand, still watching for any sign that the phenomena would subside, but the light turned to sparks, and fire poured forth into the night sky.

* * *

 **THE PEAK**

All aboard the satellite watched on in silent trembling. Three massive holographic screens projected for them all to see the calamities unleashed on Earth. The one to the right ran live news footage of the attack on Beijing, where a bizarrely sinister cyborg was taking on the Chinese military, and shredding its way through the capitol city. Not much information had reached SWORD about it, but it was positively identified as coming from the same universe where Godzilla was from. Reed Richards had denied any knowledge of how it could have crossed over, but government officials were skeptical about his claim.

The screen on the right was a helicopter feed from Westchester, Connecticut, where what looked like a mutated Godzilla had erected crystal towers around the Xavier Institute. The blue-skinned monstrosity had captured a group of the students, and Charles Xavier himself, holding them hostage for reasons unknown. The network of white spires formed a bulwark against outside help, bolts cast from their tips destroying any rescue attempt that approached. Another confirmed invader from the other side that Mr. Fantastic had no explanation for, and SWORD being the sole witness of its approach.

The feed in the center was real-time from their own telescopes, a blazing inferno in the wilderness of Wakanda, Thor a tiny spec in the frame. The asteroid had been cracked in the center, with sparks and flame shooting out of it in a furious torrent like it had been compressed inside. It burned as if it had been made of combustible elements that were ignited by Mjolnir like a match. Instead of flickering away, the fire was forming a cloud, coalescing from the infernal aether, becoming something.

Sydren stood next to commander Brand, his shoulders sunken, sadness in his eyes.

"There will be no stopping it." He lamented, "Now that it has been freed, it will join the others in a wash of destruction that will leave the Earth a desolate wasteland."

Abigail hated to hear her friend talk this way, but as a primarily anti-alien espionage and preventative force, there was little she could do, as much as she wanted to. Using the FERG on a target on the Earth was unequivocally forbidden, no matter the threat. Her organization simply wasn't the versatile creature that SHIELD was, not that her sibling division was in any shape to put-up a resistance to these things. Godzilla had broken them on a whim.

"Humanity's not out of this fight yet." She scolded him, but lacking the matching appropriate tone. "There's a planet full of heroes down there, and they're not gonna stand by while this goes on." Frustration with the situation having reached a boiling point, Abigail jostled her way through the crowd to stand in front of the satellite's personnel.

"Listen-up everyone!" Some eyes turned to her, but most stayed glued to the monitors. "You see that down there?" pointing to the screens; "That is not the end of the world. Those monsters are on borrowed time, they're invasive pathogens, and we are the antibodies! Our defensive forces got sucker-punched, true enough, but our counter-strike is coming."

A few more turned their attention to their commander as she continued; "The brightest minds in the world are at work right now, and the strongest heroes are mustering their strength as I speak. I don't know what kind of fights these titanic freaks had on the other side, but they are not gonna like the one they get here! These bastards are going back where they came from!"

* * *

 **WAKANDA**

Thor held his hammer tight, prepared for whatever devilry was birthing; "I know not what kind of fiend I have unleashed, but by the blood of Odin I will not allow it to-"

The cloud of fire pulled itself together, and with one final brilliant flash, was transformed into a glimmering golden titan. Massive wings that blotted out the moon's light unfurled, and five long limbs rolled out, two down, three up. Long twin tails ending in spike covered thagomizer cudgels twitched and flexed. Three serpentine necks stretched out, each of them topped by a head with recurved horns, mouths of serrated fangs, and piercing red eyes.

"By my father's beard…"

King Ghidorah floated there in all his iridescent glory, the newborn scales of the ancient destroyer giving off light stolen from all the stars it had exterminated. No small figure at six-foot, six inches, Thor however was nearly imperceptible beside the 150-meter tall, 175-meter wingspan of Monster Zero.

Slowly, intently, the middle head bent downward to inspect the hovering Asgardian, its irises contracting to focus on an object so much smaller. Only a few tense meters separated the two immortals as Thor stared back into the eyes of pure evil.

"Such a mighty beast I have never seen, but it will meet its end all the same by the might of Mjolnir."

Ghidorah could sense the strange power emanating from the tiny creature, even more so from the tool it wielded. There was a larger force connected to these conduits, a life-force that he would have to devour in time. But for now, there was a thriving city not far away, ripe with terror, unlike the curious little thing that greets him.

The eyes of the monster flashed, and instantly Thor was thrown in a tizzy, assaulted by thoughts injected into his mind. The images were such that Thor felt compelled to do hurtful thing, to himself and others, vile thoughts of bloodshed and murder. But Thor's psyche was far more powerful than that of a mortal man, and he shook them loose. He sneered in contempt, spinning Mjolnir, accumulating raw power from the sky.

"Your spell casting will avail you naught dragon! For you now face the son of Odin! Prince of Asgard! Protector of Midgard! Today is your last battle! HAVE AT THEE!"

The very same moment Thor leveled his hammer at Ghidorah, the left head swiveled down and unleashed a golden bolt of graviton lightning that blindsided the champion, and knocked him screaming from the sky.

Ghidorah's third head joined the other two, watching Thor plummet to the ground. The Prince of Asgard hit the ground in a cloud of dust and dead plant material, Mjolnir landing with a clang meters away.

The glowering red eyes of the planet killer narrowed. There would be time to come back for this interesting specimen later. Relatively he was not all that unremarkable, in his immeasurable years roaming the stars, there had been many possessed of great power, and this tiny hammer swinging human was merely one among them. Insignificant.

For now, there lay the city. So ripe with life, positively reeking of the terror of its inhabitants, Ghidorah growled, the skyline of Wakanda reflecting in his crimson eye. A good place to start.

* * *

 **BEIJING, CHINA**

Stepping through another rising cloud of smoke and fire, Gigan wailed. He shot another volley of explosive beams from his visor that dispersed among a squadron of Chinese jet fighters, obliterating them into shards.

"Alright…" Wasp asked, standing with the others atop a building, watching dumbfounded five hundred meters away as the Kaiju march through the city. "I'm open to ideas."

"It's like some freaky science-fiction movie!" Nightcrawler cried, disappearing in a puff of smoke and reappearing on a satellite dish. "A giant robot with laser beams!"

"A Cyborg, but you're not far off Kurt." Kitty pointed out, "Prof. Richards said that this thing, Gigan, _is_ alive, but 'Frankenstein-ed' into what it is now by an alien race."

Gigan used his right arm to smash through a high-rise, just as a group of tanks began bombarding his sails. He turned with a screech, a thin red beam from the forehead optic slicing into the vehicles to create a hell storm of detonations and screams.

"I don't care what he's made of, he's still vulnerable somewhere." From his forward vantage point on the edge of the roof, Cyclops stood with his arms crossed. "We find a way past all that offense, and jam a wrench in the gears."

"I guess you X-Men are a little more used to taking a header into the jaws of death." Wasp remarked with a wry humor, "But how exactly are the four of us going to put a dent in that war machine?"

"Unlike the military, we're a bit more nimble than tanks." Scott explained, "I have a plan, but we have to get close."

Kitty furrowed her eyebrows, "Like… how close?"

 **MINUTES LATER**

"TOO CLOSE! TO CLOSE!"

Kitty covered her head as the four of them ran under concrete rain, the building above them having its top demolished. Not a hundred yards away, Gigan swung an arm at a passing jet before an optic beam cut it in half. They entered a protected alcove, from where they solidified their plan.

"Just like I said," Cyclops began in a calm voice, trying to keep them focused under fire. "Me and Kurt will keep him distracted. Kitty, you and Wasp get inside that thing, and do your best to damage the internal structure."

Janet raised her arm slightly, "I know Kitty can just phase her way through, but how am I supposed to get in? He'd chew me up in his mouth, and I am NOT going in the other end."

"Don't worry" Scott smiled, "Your point of entry is much safer."

Cyclops and Nightcrawler materialized in a puff of smoke in the middle of the street, and without wasting a second, Scott removed his visor and sent an unrestrained stream of his own red energy that caught Gigan by surprise in the chest at an upward angle, battering the cyborg to the ground.

Gigan shrieked in alarm as his body was bent sideways by the force of the blast, collapsing into a plume of dust and debris from the thrashing of his limbs.

Running through the chaos, Kitty jumped off a broken ledge of concrete, landing on Gigan's neck and phasing through the armor. Utilizing a light disk in the center of her belt, she found that she had entered a spacious compartment. Around her were several organs, resembling glands that were tethered by techno-organic connective tissue to both living flesh and mechanical apparatus.

"awwww…. Cooooool." She said aloud, marveling at the alien physiology.

Getting back to his feet, Gigan scanned his immediate surroundings for any sign of what had attacked him, his had jerking this way and that, trying to catch his assailant unaware. A second blast struck him in the rear left, pushing him off his feet with a yelp and sprawling face-first into the asphalt.

"Oh please don't slice me in half…"

Deftly, a miniature Janet darted in between the blades of Gigan's chest saw, and into the torso. Inside, the mechanism that rotated the chain was spotless and smelled of a hot oil. Nearly seamless, Janet was tempted to stay and see it operate, where she not worried about being mangled in the process.

"Way bizarre…"

She buzzed past a huge pulsating organ humming with a grinding click, and a rhythmic red throb.

Janet shuddered at her perplexing surroundings, "They really did a number on you didn't they?". Her hands came alive with yellow energy, "Time to start blowing things up I guess."

His thrusters kicking to life, Gigan slid on his stomach and righted itself a few dozen meters above the ground for a better vantage, adapting to the X-Men's attack strategy. Gigan activated his ambient scanners, and set them to register any sudden movement. Hovering in the air he waited motionless, silently monitoring for anything to react to.

There came a sudden flash of movement behind him, so instantaneously Gigan almost couldn't react in time, but he did.

Nightcrawler holding Cyclops in an embrace, they appeared in mid-air long enough for Scott to take another shot at the monster's back. But in the split second they did, Gigan vanished in a flash and Cyclops' ruby beam went through empty space.

"Huh?!" Kurt Wagner cried in stark confusion, Scott putting his visor back on. They had begun to fall when Gigan reappeared directly above them, his own red visor brimming, waling an inorganic scream of victory at having found his enemies.

"Look out!" Was all they could manage before they in turn avoided a searing blast by teleporting.

His scanners now primed to their signature, Gigan was back to being the hunter.

The two X-Men landed in a heap atop a pile of broken masonry and glass, leaving nasty gashes in their backsides. They were inside an office tower, where half a wayward fighter jet had crashed through the windows and caused the floor above to collapse.

"Kurt!" Cyclops yelped, his nerves strained to deal with the pain. His partner was not much better off, picking a glass splinter from his tail.

"I panicked I'm sorry!"

The ear-splitting screech of their foe reminded them that they were the mouse, and it was the cat. Cyclops turned to his friend just as three fingers gripped his shoulders. "the Blackbird!"

The pair were gone in a plume of dark smoke, seconds before the space-metal scythe cleaved through the building with a single stroke. The top half toppled over and fell in disastrous mess of rubble and dust. Gigan vented his frustration and turned to smash his tail into the lower half. His metallic teeth clenched together, he panned his vision across the city for the enemy, but a sudden tweak in his neck forced him to pause.

Inside, Kitty had her hands jammed into a horizontal pod, small sparks from the patched circuitry proof that her phasing ability could damage the alien tech.

"I hope doing this won't make him explode." Kitty commented to herself, "That would suck."

"Kitty! Are you alright?" The worried voice in her ear was Cyclops', the tiny buds they carried in their ears for field missions apparently not impaired by being inside the monster. She put a finger on the button to respond; "I'm fine so far, why is something happening?"

"So you not hurt from him teleporting?"

Kitty stood there blinking for a moment, "Teleported? He teleported while I was _inside him_?"

"Uh yeah, you didn't notice?"

"NO, at least we didn't go all "The Fly" Jeez!"

"Well, keep doing what you're doing. It's starting to work."

A long drip of a mucus-like substance dripped down beside Kitty's head from a duct above her, swirling with black and sickly green colors, extending gradually, its tether thick and ropey. She glanced at it sidelong, and placed a hand over her mouth. Remembering that the same hand was just inside one the alien glands, she frowned as she took it away from her face.

"It better be."

Unnoticed by the young mutant, something in the dark was watching her, its red filter appraising her with small data streams in alien lettering.

Gigan cranked his neck trying to work out the kink, but the blip on his radar of the two strange humans drew his attention northward. He chest saw revved with anticipation.

Just under the lungs, or what Janet guessed were lungs, she paused to look up at the strange machinery. Above her, were installed three huge cylinders, comprised vertically of compartments of the same silver metal, with black honeycomb vents between layers. Every other second they hummed and expelled a dirty yellow steam from its core.

"Must be how this thing breaths," she marveled. "Well if anything I damage in here is going to, these things should get his notice." Her earlier attempts to cause damage hadn't been to successful, whatever this thing was made of, it was resistant to her stingers. It bounced off the metal, and while the flesh reacted, it didn't seem to hurt.

She flew up and poised herself just outside the vent grate of the center lung. "Hank would go nuts to see something like this, oh well." Her hands illuminated, but before she could send her blasts into the sensitive working of the life-support system, an object dropped onto her from above and six long metal talons around her body pinned Wasp to the writing floor.

"What the-!"

Glaring down at her was a thing that reminded her of a metallic spider. The slender spikes, connected by a flexible length of cord to a black rounded disk, featured an oblong red optic window that she could feel was peering down at her. Her face stretched long in stark fear, Janet reacted on instinct.

Whatever the spider was going to do, it never got the chance. A explosion of yellow power under its belly sent the thing spiraling off.

She sat up, flexed her hands open and closed, trying to quell the anxiety that logically should have gripped her the moment she entered the cyborg.

"Guys!" She yelled into her comms device, "We have a new problem!"

"Tell me about it!" Kitty answered, a herd of the spiders behind her as she made her way through the grotesque mosaic. "These things are fixing all the damage I've done!"

Phasing through one and another as she ran, other spiders were busy at work repairing the various bits that were sparking. on the topside of the spiders were four hatches, and extending from them were small manipulator arms and what looked like an organic soldering tool, adhering a gooey translucent material to the wounds.

"They're like cybernetic antibodies!"

The ones she phased through dropped where they were, only for others to descend on them and begin repairs. Around her, more and more crawled out of the nooks and crannies, joining the hunt for the invasive bodies.

Sitting in the Blackbird's pilot seat adjusting switches, a vein throbbed in Cyclops' forehead, "Kurt, keep an eye out for Kitty or Wasp, they're going to need a quick extraction."

"On it boss!" Nightcrawler's voice responded in the ear piece.

Pulling back on the lever that powered on the thrusters, Cyclops had to wonder; " _Why are these things showing up now?"_

 _Flight capability restored._

A line of red flashed across Gigan's optic, pleased by the system update. Sending the command to his own flight controls, the three sails on his back unfolded from their compressed stored position. Unbeknownst to all but the finest of the Vortaak scientific engineers, the wings contained the anti-gravitational cells that allowed him flight, one of the few leftover parts of his organic body, as his species could use this ability to navigate between planets.

The rocket boosters located in his back came to life, and Gigan methodically rose into the air. The small red eye above the main visor shot out its thin laser, cutting into the buildings and causing fires as the cyborg rotated.

"He's flying now!" Nightcrawler popped from one position to another across rooftops, the deadly beam following right after him.

"We're not going to keep him contained!"

"We need to pull back, we're overwhelmed!" Steering the Blackbird around in a holding pattern, Cyclops kept an eye on the monsters movements. "Wasp, Kitty get out of there!"

"Working on it!" As Janet buzzed through the spaces and dodged the grasping claws of the spiders, she noted that there had gone from being a few, to the walls being covered in the mouse-sized androids. "Almost back to the exit!."

She saw an opening, a vertical stretch of daylight between the chest saw and the body. There were a few that milled about the spot she aimed for, and she sent a volley of stinger blasts in their direction to scatter them. With the way clear she allowed herself a smirk, having dashed into the depths of the mangler, and made it back out in one piece.

A forest of small crimson beams from all around her drew down, making her the center of a matrix of the tracking lasers, projected from the spiders face optics.

"Uh-oh" she murmured, suddenly fearing what was about to come.

A dozen or more spiders dropped down from above her, and by the skin of her teeth did she avoid being captured by one. But in her frantic effort, she failed to see the group stacking one atop another, and as she passed the last of the initial wave, she was grasped by one from below, and pulled down by a throng of the manipulator arms.

"No! Let me go! Please!" She screamed and struggled against the restraints, the fact that she was appealing to emotionless automatons not registering in her panicked state. They held her legs together and arms to the side, like she was being prepared for the surgical table.

It had been years since her anxiety had gotten so bad, then again, she had never been taken captive by the minions of an alien monster. Janet tried to get her rapid breathing under control, but the presence of another spider, climbing over the others to loom over her. The space she was in was too small to grow to her normal size, she'd be killed, so she unleashed a desperate flurry of stinger blasts, knocking some of them away until more arms coiled around her wrists to hold them down.

Grunting, she turned her face away from the spider straddling over her, "Guys… I really, really need some help here!"

From atop the inspecting android, two tentacles with clawed digits rose out, one grasped a hold of her face and forced it straight. Her eyes wide open in stark terror, she watched the other transform to reveal a syringe that dripped a dark green liquid, inching carefully closer to her.

Her stifled scream was cut off when the Kitty came diving through the spider, grabbed Wasp in a hand, and pulled her through the wriggling mass.

"Do you hate spiders as much as I do?" Kitty nervously joked as they continued to descend, passing through the marbled layering of flesh and cybernetics. Janet however was still too paralyzed to respond.

"Hey! Snap out of it Janet! I'm gonna need you to fly us out of here in a second!"

Shaking her head to clear the grip of fear, Wasp caught her breath and tried to focus on the immediate; "I'm alright kiddo, just… just got a little shaken-up for a moment." Trying to convince the X-Men member with a unimpressive smile, Janet exhaled deeply to legitimize her claim.

Falling through the exterior armor of the Kaiju, they were buffeted by the winds and assaulted by the acrid smoke of burning materials. Now in the open air, Janet grew to her normal size but kept her wings out, taking Kitty by the wrists to fly them away.

"Hold tight!"

Gigan's head shot to the right, catching sight of the fleeing humans.

"Do you think he knows we were the ones giving him stomach pains?" Wasp asked.

Kitty lowered her had to look behind them, and saw a building glow in Gigan's eye, as it was pointed in their direction. Her face paled, "Oh yeah, he knows!"

Gigan loosed his crimson beam, splitting apart halfway to its intended target. Just as the first clusters of the scatter-shot attack reached Kitty and Janet, a puff of dark smoke engulfed them, and Nightcrawler laid a hand on each of them.

All three were gone before a storm of concussive bursts erupted where they had been.

His prey evading him at the last second, Gigan screamed in frustration, gnashing his scythes against one another like a child's tantrum.

Aboard the Blackbird, the three reappeared and collapsed in heap.

"Just'in time _ja_?" Nightcrawler asked, sitting up.

"You have no idea!" an exhausted Wasp gasped, spread out on the floor.

"We're not out of the fight yet!" Cyclops yelled from the pilot seat, jerking the steering bars hard to the right.

Outside, a furious Gigan was in hot pursuit, and not even the sudden acceleration of the Blackbird into supersonic speeds could shake him. The cyborg lashed out with several lances of his forehead laser, which the X-Men's craft darted back-and-forth to avoid. Looking down to the radar, Cyclops saw that Gigan was in fact gaining on them, the space between its blip and the center closing by the second.

"I'm gonna have to return fire at Gigan! Kurt, you think you can _not_ crash this thing?"

Taking Cyclops' place in the pilot seat, Nightcrawler gripped the handles, "I haven't put in all those hours in the Danger Room's flight simulator for _nichts_!"

Cyclops pulled on a large yellow lever, folding it back to a mirrored position. "Just don't fly us into a building." he warned, the cargo door at the rear of the Blackbird opening, Gigan an increasing feature in their slipstream. He approached the threshold, reaching down to grab hold of a latched tether that he attached to his beltline.

"Alright metal mouth, time we formally met, _eye to eye_."

As if hearing Cyclops' challenge, Gigan's eye illuminated and loosed a solid river of his red atomic energy at the same moment the X-Man took off his protective visor and unleashed the fury of trans-dimensional photons.

The two crimson forces collided with a crack in a blinding flash of light, neither side able to overcome the other. Its epicenter a convulsing swirl of the rival powers, throwing off sparks and flares. Summers clenched his jaw in his strain to maintain control of the energies surging through his eyes, becoming more difficult each second it combated the cyborg's.

For his part, Gigan must have been surprised by the strength of the human's ability, faltering for a moment in flight, but able to keep-up. With a wild shriek, the alien Kaiju pressed on, determined to catch the human craft. At the speeds they were traveling, both teleportation and his razor discs were useless, as both would be outrun. The only weapon in his arsenal capable was his beam, which he could feel was not strong enough.

While Cyclops' attack had the advantage of going behind them, it also came from a deeper well, and its strength remained constant. Gigan's meanwhile was never designed for prolonged use, its power source limited to sprints of expenditure before depletion. And being the one in pursuit meant he had to fight upstream, wasting energy just to keep his beam competitive. Gigan knew he had to toss the table.

"Look out!" Kitty screamed, pointing to a bulge traveling along the length of Gigan's beam. When it hit the point of conflict, the surge washed over like a wave and surrounded Cyclops' beam until it dispersed into a dozen smaller streaks before rending the air in a tumult of explosions around the Blackbird.

The entire craft was rocked and thrown in several directions, Nightcrawler just barely able to keep it from spiraling out of control. Wasp found herself braced against the control panel, and staring at a display of the craft with damage warning highlights sprouting-up, signaling that a wing, the thrusters, and a few spots on the fuselage had suffered severe injury, particularly the undercarriage.

"Hey kid, you can land this thing right?" She nervously asked Nightcrawler, who stayed glued to the monitor.

" _Mehr oder weniger_ …" he said, not willing to admit his inexperience plainly.

With the aircraft losing altitude by the second, Gigan banked to his right to avoid the path of Cyclops' beam, strangely ceding victory to the human.

With a gasp of relief, Cyclops dropped to a knee and put his visor back on, though he kept his eyes closed to sooth the fatigue.

"Scott we're going to crash land!" Kitty yelled, putting a hand on his shoulder, using him to steady herself as much as the wall. Against his preference, he opened his eyes to see the sides of the green mountains getting closer to each other, the tree-tops becoming a larger portion of his view.

Cyclops gripped onto the nearest handholds available, "Hold on tight!"

The Blackbird barreled through several trees until it passed into a riverbed, its belly scraping along the rocks for several hundred meters, gouging out water and soil as it slowed to a stop.

"huh… guess we could have stayed in."

A few dozen meters away, Nightcrawler stood staring at the craft as it sat nose first nestled in the river.

Moments ago, as Cyclops, Wasp, and Kitty huddled together to prepare for the impact, Nightcrawler wrapped his arms around them and teleported the group out. Manifesting in mid-air, they tumbled downwards into a gauntlet of branches. "One more time!" Still with a hand or tail on his comrades, just before the first limbs could break them apart he took them the rest of the way to the forest floor.

They landed and fell in different directions, thankful to be on the stable ground.

As Nightcrawler looked to the surprisingly durable Blackbird, Cyclops and Kitty were the first to get to their feet, while Wasp remained on the ground, arms splayed wide.

"ooooooohhh…. My stomach."

"Yeah", Kitty said, brushing off bits of leaves and dirt, "I got sick the first few times too."

Cyclops joined Nightcrawler by his side, holding his left triceps. "See Kurt, I knew you could do it."

"Ja, yay for me. But now where did that monster go?"

A red beam cut through the air before them, lancing into the Blackbird. Cyclops immediately swung an arm around his younger teammate, and dragged him to the ground, covering Kurt's body with his own.

The craft was obliterated in an instant, consumed in a firestorm and creating a shockwave that sent shrapnel in every direction. Kitty instinctively covered her face as a jagged section of black metal bisected through her before stabbing into the ground at a slanted angle, inches away from Janet's head. Wasp yelped, the fragment still vibrating, "Can I not almost die for just five minutes!"

Throwing-up dust and broken lumber as he landed, Gigan chirped his satisfaction. The mice had nowhere to run, and the cat was poised to pounce.

Cyclops sat up, aghast by the loss of the plane, mouth hanging open, his visor reflecting the dancing flames.

"Scott?…" next to him, Kurt put a hand out to try and shield himself from the intense heat, "what are we going to do?"

Cyclops briefly put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, "Come on". Getting to their feet, they sprinted over to where Kitty was helping Janet get out from under the shrapnel piece.

"No-one's hurt?" he asked them.

"Not for lack of trying!" Kitty complained, pulling Wasp upright.

Cyclops pulled out a hand-held communicator, a rectangular device, but the rattling sound of pieces within caused him to curse.

"Wasp, any chance you can contact SHIELD or the Avengers?"

She reached into her ear to activate her com-link, only for it to emit a piercing whine before she tore it out.

"Ah! I think something's jamming the signal!"

Another crimson beam struck the forest around them, blazing a semi-circle that pinned them between the wall of fire and the approaching monster.

Gigan cried out, seeing the tiny heat signatures of the humans cower from the flames. A menacing sheen rippled across the monster's eye, matched by a short shriek as he took another step in their direction.

With the forest fire behind him, Scott Summers stood in the shadow of Gigan, who loomed over them all like the Colossus across the straits of Gibraltar.

His three companions stood behind him, "Scott, we need to go," Kitty pleaded, "we can get through the fire and stay ahead of that thing!"

Cyclops held-up his hand, shaking his head slightly, "We couldn't outrun him in the Blackbird, and we're not going to on foot."

"But we can't fight him!" Nightcrawler said, pointing a finger upwards, "We need help!"

Gigan tilted his head, curious that instead of scrambling for their lives, they stood in place. Rarely would Gigan have spared the time to pursue such relatively insignificant targets, as he was usually unleashed to dismantle infrastructure and military resistance. But ever since being pulled into this strange world against his will, there had been no direction from the masters, no-one to assign his task, to give him purpose. It was the first time in a very long time he could recall having such choice. But a twitch of reinforcement programming brought him around to the present, suppressing his momentary window of free thought.

The humans had proven themselves capable opponents, if just evasive ones. But two had managed to breach his chassis, and one possessed a power that surpassed his own. They were a threat to his mission, and had to be eliminated.

"Are you listening Scott?!" Wasp vigorously shook his shoulder from behind, trying to get some kind of fight or flight response from him. But he turned to her, a knowing smirk on his face.

"Help has arrived."

Gigan spread his arms, ready to annihilate them with one final blast from his eye. Peaking over the mountains, the light of the rising morning sun gleamed in the corner of his visor. But when it was blotted out, the object descending from the sky drew his attention, and put the cyborg in a defensive stance.

The heroes gazed on in awe at the figure that came to a hover in front of them, shielding the group with its body. Kitty stepped slowly forwards, "Scott? is that the uh…"

"Yes it is." Cyclops confirmed, "That's Mothra."

The guardian trilled, Mothra's normally harmonious presence instead seethed with aggression, once again faced with by familiar foe; their last battle during the Vortaak invasion had been a costly one.

Gigan unfurled his sails to make himself look larger, and lowered his head for a hostile display, screaming his unnatural cry.

Undeterred, Mothra spread her wings wide, and allowed the sunlight to pass through the mystical prism, magnifying the photons and creating a intolerable illumination that even the cyborg had to shy away from.

"Hey!" Janet exclaimed, holding her ear-piece in place and smiling, "The channel's clear!"

Cyclops glanced back to where the alien was using one of its scythes to shield his eye. "Gigan must have been jamming it, but now Mothra's taken all his focus."

"How do you know?" Kitty asked, incredulous.

Cyclops gestured towards the monster; "He's a cyborg right?"

"Wasp to Avengers, anyone, come in!"

"Iron Man here, what can I do ya' for?"

"Tony! OhMyGod! You have to help us! We're in China and-"

"Hold on Jan."

Aboard the gauntlet shaped Stark satellite, Tony floated in the space in front of a large translucent screen. To either side were multiple small windows depicting various locations around the world, in the center however, was a real-time video feed of China, whose distance decreased by increments every second. Tony watched as the image came to clarity, and saw Mothra, wings aglow, positioned opposite the bizarre space creature. And behind Mothra, the tiny red blip revealed where Janet was standing.

"JARVIS, set a rescue pod to Janet's signal to pick them up."

"Yes Sir."

Outside the station, a small compartment disengaged, small thrusters along its exterior rotating and adjusting its position until it jettisoned away.

"TONY!" Janet screamed, "You've got to do something about Gigan!"

"Is that what he's called?"

"TONY!"

"I'm working on it, just get yourselves clear."

The station slowly swiveled in place, the palm turning to face the Earth.

Mothra chirped angrily, warning Gigan not to challenge her, but he was not so easily intimidated. Moving his arm out of the way, Gigan shot his cluster bomb at point blank range, knocking Mothra back and forcing an end to the light deterrent.

The guardian reeled from the concussive forces, _"Why are you here? Why did you come?"_

The parts of Gigan's brain that were still of living tissue, understood that his opponent was trying to communicate, but could not comprehend, something with his neural programming was garbling the message. Unable to know what was being said however, he reverted to protective measures.

With a grinding, cybernetic wail, Gigan struck a defensive pose, one arm raised, another leveled.

Answered with threatening posturing, Mothra began flapping her wings harder, whipping-up gale force winds to buffet any advance.

The battle begun, Gigan rushed forward.

* * *

 **PROJECT PEGASUS FACILITY**

 **SECRET LOCATION**

 **SUB-BASEMENT 7**

The sound of booted feet limping on the tiles filled the otherwise deserted hallway. This far down in the facility it was never really necessary for all the lights to be on, so the silhouetted man made his way along by bracing his right hand on the wall to steady himself. He passed several doors with alphanumerical nomenclatures printed on them in red, small rectangular windows positioned at head level revealed nothing but blackness beyond.

His long dark coat hung off him, its bottom frayed and caked with mud and dirt. Passing through a low-lit spot, one could see that his boots were brand-new, contrasting the soiled condition of the bottom cuffs of his pants. Coming to a stop just at the edge of the shadows, he lowered his uncovered head and caught his breath.

"…Dammit…"

He put his left hand to the side of his ribs, letting a grunt of pain echo in the forsaken hall.

"Goddamn monster" he cursed, "Trash my favorite Helicarrier."

Turning his face up to look down the rest of the hallway, Nick Fury spied at last his goal, the door at the dead-end, sitting ominously in the shadow. He straightened out and continued the final few yards until he could stare through the pane and confirm the presence of his target.

Considering carefully his plan one more time, his mind ran through the series of events that led him to this door.

He remembered being in the Helicarrier as it was being swung around by Godzilla, pinned to the wall by the centripetal force, seeing the Triskelion from an odd perspective rushing towards him. Mustering his strength, he rolled himself to the left and through an open doorway to the next room. Knowing the layout of the Helicarrier better than the engineers, Fury had an escape plan formulated within milliseconds. A glimmer of regret twisted his heart for a moment for all the men and women under his command that he could not save, there simply wasn't the time.

As the Helicarrier crashed into the Triskelion's superstructure, he was bounced from one wall to another before coming to a violent stop. But the hall was slanted, and as soon as he craft settled, he began sliding towards a large window pane. Thinking quickly, he plucked his side-arm from its holster and emptied the magazine into the glass. His body crashed into the window and shattered through, allowing him to drop 10 feet, sprawling onto the desk in a cubicle station.

Rolling his body onto the floor, a menacing sound caused him to look back, where reflective surfaces facing outside shown with a blue glow. Realizing immediately what it meant, he fought the pain in his back and legs to sprint for the far side of the floor, aiming for the emergency stairwell. As he bashed a shoulder into the door to shove it open without stopping, he heard the disastrous sound of the Helicarrier behind him being blown apart, metal tearing and shattering explosions.

Fury began leaping down the stairs three at a time, already the heat from the destruction laying its grip on the back of his neck. Passing by the 4th floor sign, plans for what to do next put themselves together in his head. This was a threat that had single-handedly smashed through several heroes, and leveled the Helicarrier because it could, within the span of an hour. What was needed, he decided, was something that could level the playing field, and he knew just what that thing was.

Rounding another corner, the landing below him was suddenly wiped-out in a wave of fire, the concrete crumbling away into the smoke. Fury was nearly lost to the dusty abyss himself if not for a length of hand-railing leaning out that he clutched onto, his legs dangling in the open space. He looked down just as the powder was clearing, and saw what remained of a lobby couch sticking out from between debris.

He swung his legs and let go of the rail, praying that no shards of wood or metal lurked beneath the cushions. He landed back first, gritting his teeth in preparation for the loud snap of lumbar that never came. Instead, he hit and was quickly able to begin navigating through the treacherous labyrinth of wreckage.

Limping through an office hallway, he was so focused on his course of action, that he was startled to look over to his left and see the waist and legs of someone sticking out from underneath a fallen section of ceiling. Suddenly reminded of all the men and women he was unable to help, and the reverberating roar from the creature outside was the dripping knife to complement the body.

He thought about stopping where he was, turning around, and doing everything he could to help those still alive, still trapped within this hellish world of destruction and fire. But the ends to which he was now dedicated required means that one might consider cold in the moment.

Turning away from the gruesome sight, Fury continued to shuffle his way through the smoke and ruin. He winced, and put a hand to his side, only now realizing that he had suffered some type of injury to his ribcage. Spiting a wad of acrid saliva aside, he focused on making sure from this point on, no-one saw him leave. Not only to protect the security of the supply stash he'd have to visit, but the security of the facility that housed his equalizer.

Now, gazing through the window at a veritable super-weapon, he knew that there were three or four more of the things loose in the world, invaders from a dimension of monsters. And not even the planet's greatest heroes were able to stop them. But they were not out of the game yet.

He flipped the boxy cover to a keypad, and entered a combination. The door unlocked with a click, and a hiss of air escaped through the breached seal. Inside was pitch dark, with only a few tiny LED lights to give away the presence of electronic equipment. The room had the stale stink of an old hospital, the regular beep of monitors was all Fury could hear aside from his own breathing. Placed among the wheeled tables that held the devices, was a large cylindrical object hidden under a white sheet that had turned yellow with time.

Nick stepped forward, cautiously pushing the nearest cart aside so he could stand beside the object. He placed his hand on its surface with respectful calmness, and pulled away the cover. The cylinder was sleek, comprised of top and bottom hemispheres, with one half of the top having a large translucent pane. He reached down to the underside, and the machine began to tilt upwards, bringing the darkened window up to eye level.

Finally a light from within the unit hummed to life, projecting out from the pane and bathing Fury in a soft glow. His face scrunched under the sudden change, the scratches and bruises that marred his head exposed.

Seeing what was contained in the cell he exhaled, silently admitting to himself that he might just come to regret this decision someday. Fury bit his lower lip and leaned in close, triggering a tiny green light from the top of the unit to beam down to his iris and register his biometrics.

A pleasant ' _blung'_ chime signaled his authorization and the two halves of the cylinder separated, the top half pivoting along hinges on the left side. He kept still as the visibly rendered gasses spilled onto the floor and poled around his feet, his attention was fixed elsewhere.

Reaching up to pull away the oxygen mask, the young woman opened her eyes slowly, taking in her darkened surroundings, memories reasserting themselves.

"Why did you wake me?" She asked, her voice strained and tired. Dressed in a body long grey leotard, she took a step out of the pod but her stability faltered.

Fury caught her in an arm and held her up; "We need your help. We've got a situation that hit us really hard, really fast, and we need put some more players on the field."

She breathed with a wheezing sound, the strength in her grip returning with every second.

"Does my father know?" Came the question, pregnant with cold regard.

"No." He assured her, unsurprised by the concern. "He's still under lock and key."

A few moments passed before she licked her lips; "You know, I can't control it any better than I could before."

"I know, Wanda." Fury acknowledged, "But we have to try."


	13. Chapter 13: Spider-Man vs Orga

**NEW YORK CITY**

A tremor shook the packed subway station, causing many of the waiting passengers to glance about in worry. In their alarm, few remembered that the subterranean villain Mole-Man had been apprehended the day before, and that this might be something new entirely. Granted they had grown accustomed to trouble caused by super powered individuals over the years, the catastrophic events of yesterday caused by a creature the Daily Bugle had named 'Godzilla', according to their sources, should have taught them better. But such is not the habit of the metropolitan denizen.

Indeed, one patron, a man in business suit, stood there with an unfolded newspaper; its headline above-the-fold read: "GODZILLA TAKES MANHATTAN!" accompanied by color picture of the monster standing in between skyscrapers.

The environment of the platform was filled by the murmur of anxious conversation, but it was stifled in an instant when a twisted, pained shriek rang out from the depths of the tunnel. They stood in silence, letting the horrific echo play itself out. Slowly, agitated voices rose and those nearest to the exits began filtering out.

The rumble and screech of the train approaching from the left side of the tunnel brought them around to the typical Pavlovian response of standing near the edge. Rolling in, the train came to a stop at the end of the platform, and opened its doors. Several people were just stepping out when the train was rocked from the front, the screams of the conductor in the head car spreading like a wave through the crowd.

The exiting passengers either dove out of the car or retreated back when a second shock crumpled the conductor's car and pushed back the first few, throwing the occupants off their feet. Massive, scaly, grey claws wrapped around the front of the car, and crushed it into a fraction of its former volume, the entire train crying out in protest at being forced back, sparks flying as breaks screeched.

The crowd recoiled in horror as a monster emerged from the tunnel, it's queer bulk demolishing the entrance as it pushed through in an outrageous parody of birthing.

Orga turned to face the crowd and bellowed, his hideous maw as wide as a hungry snake's.

Civilians fled as fast as they could, some tripping and falling, others too driven by stark fear to not trample them. At the base of the stairs they literally piled over one another in their frantic exodus, crushing and pulling, screaming and crying.

With one final shove, Orga cleared enough space to pull the rest of his body free. Now triple the size he had been in his fight with Hulk, Orga watched the humans flee with a primitive interest. He looked into them, searching for any valuable genes, but found nothing of particular interest. One or two were abnormal, but nothing Orga could discern as useful.

His hunt was interrupted by the pained stretching of his legs and fingers, the effects of feeding off of the giants earlier still working their way through his system. Very soon the underground would no longer be able to hide him, and his desire for more was already urging him into the open world.

A trough was carved into the ceiling as his back scraped against it. Orga dragged his hunched body towards the stairs, towards the sensation of air and freedom.

While the craving for native genetic material was ever present, there was also the need for physical sustenance, and eyeing the writhing and weeping bodies at the base of the exit, the opportunity for conventional nourishment was ample. Using his massive fists to support himself, Orga leaned down and took in a mouthful of bodies, some of whom tried vainly to get away. The alien adapter raised his head as much as it could, and with a swift motion, took them deeper into his gullet, the crunch of bones snapping and muffled screams no deterrent.

With a second gulp the tangle of limbs disappeared, his tongue lolling from side-to-side, and a pleased twinkle in his eye. A rapacious appetite now ignited, his snout struck the floor tiles as he gobbled-up the rest like a hog through slop.

On the street level, several police cruisers came to a whip-lashing stop around the entrance to the subway station. Dozens of officers scrambled out of their cars, some fanned out to establish a security perimeter, others preparing a defensive posture for whatever emerged from the underground. They took positions behind car doors, and levied an array of automatic pistols, shotguns, and semi-automatic rifles at the entrance.

Police vans arrived, deploying teams of heavily armed men with assault weapons and barricade equipment. Hastily erecting fold-out black wall segments, the SWAT officers slotted their weapons into the gaps, muzzles and grenade launchers ready to assail the coming threat with maximum hostility.

One officer, peering down the sights of his AR-15, a bead of sweat sliding down his helmet protected forehead, exhaled through his teeth.

A sorrowful bawl came from the station entrance, sending a ripple of last second movement through the blue and black ranks.

"Boy I hope we get some back-up." The officer wished to himself in a low voice.

"Why? Do you think it's that bad?"

Startled, the officer glanced to his left and saw Spider-Man standing there, hands on his hips, watching the subway.

"Spider-Man!" He blurted.

"Heard there was another monster problem, seems to be the flavor of the week around here."

The officer shook his head in exasperation "Well we got some kind'ov freaky-"

Spider-Man's nerves were struck all at once by a warning sensation, drowning out the officer's words and making him hyper-alert to the slightest movements.

"-it's like we're being invaded!"

A fist the size of a car punched through the street-top right in the middle of the police lines, flipping cars and sending people flying. One cruiser flipped back was about to squash a pair of knocked-down officers, but a web-line to each of their shoulders yanked them out of harm's way a split-second before the car hit. Pulling them into himself, Spider-Man helped them to their feet; "Get some bigger guns!" He urged them as they ran to aid their fellow officers.

Orga's fingers dug deep into the pavement as it pried itself upwards, undulating and barking at the gunfire that peppered his rising form, which had grown larger still. His left arm was pulled out, and swung wide to knock a SWAT van off its wheels and skidding towards a group of officers who dived out of the way.

A trio of grenade rounds exploded against his hide, managing to blast off a few small chunks, but it did nothing to cow the agitated beast. Orga scrambled out of the hole and charged the nearest group of attacking officers, snapping and growling. Taking a car in his hand, Orga readied to use it as a bludgeon until a net of webbing attached itself to the roof and hood, the taught line holding his arm back.

"This… [ _grunt_ ] is why we can't have nice things!"

Holding the reigns of the webbing, Spider-Man held on as much as he could to the car. He pulled back and suddenly fell over when the line went slack.

"Huh?"

Spider-Man glanced to the line in his hand to make sure it hadn't snapped, his vision trailing farther and farther until he settled on Orga, who was now staring right back at him. The beast stood still, simply gazing at him, appraising, scrutinizing him.

"Uh-oh. That thing's looking at me like Kingpin looks at a jumbo hot dog."

With a wild shriek, Orga tossed the car aside and lumbered in his direction.

"Oh come on!" Spider-Man exclaimed, leaping back and throwing a line upwards to escape the monster's charge. "He can't just wreck the city, he has to want to eat me too?" Settling on the vertical side of a building, he watched carefully below, where Orga waited like a hound that had chased its quarry up a tree.

"Alright Quasimodo, you just stay right there and I'll go find you a nice bell-tower to stay in."

But the greedy alien would not be so patient as it crouched down.

"Good boy." Spider-Man cooed, "now stay."

Another pulse of fight-or-flight was all the warning Peter Parker got before Orga launched itself off the ground, arms and jaws wide open, straight-up the vertical climb.

"WHOA!"

Spider-Man vaulted backwards, narrowly avoiding Orga's claws that struck into the spot where he had just been perched. For a moment man and monster locked eyes, but the building façade couldn't support Orga's weight, and it slid down a few inches.

"oh, here we go." He said, not very excited by the idea of playing cat-and-mouse with the monster.

Orga lurched upwards, grabbing new hand-holds, and Spider-Man back-flipped farther away. The two continued in this way, one scaling the building in leaps and lunges, wailing madly and gouging out chunks of masonry; the other dodging and weaving to avoid being caught.

"Just a little farther…"

Despite the chase, Spider-Man did have a plan, and it required enough height to achieve terminal velocity. Finally vaulting over the edge of the building's roof, he poised to face his pursuer. "Come on… here boy!"

Orga's claws gripped the edge of the roof, crumbling the waist-high wall into tiny bits. Hauling itself over, the Millennian mutate glowered at Spider-Man, howling in desire. It's cry turned into a yelp of confusion when gobs of webbing covered his relatively small eyes, and with one hand still clutching on, Orga used its right hand to try and tear it away, it's cumbrous digits vainly picking at the material.

The opportunity presented, Spider-Man sprinted forward, "Let's see if I can catch you on the first bounce!" Spring-boarding off of Orga's head, Spider-Man launched two tethers onto the monster's back, using the anchors to swing underneath and land on the side of the building.

"1!"

He heaved on the lines, feeling the monsters grip loosen slightly.

"2!"

Orga squealed, his fingers carving into the concrete as he was dragged back.

"3!"

With a final mighty exertion, Spider-Man managed to wrench Orga free, the monster plummeting 40 stories to the ground. "WELCOME TO NEW YORK!" He yelled in a sing-song voice as Orga fell past him, still blinded and bellowing in panic.

The body impacted the asphalt with a thunderous crash, cratering the ground and exposing several utility lines that showered sparks. Orga lay on its back, arms to the side, mouth hanging open and tongue dangling limply from the corner.

Spider-Man landed not far away, carefully observing for any sign of movement.

"Hey… I'm starting to get the hang of this whole 'fighting giant monsters' deal, I don't need Hulk or Thor at all!"

Nearby, the police forces had regrouped and were approaching as a formation, riot shields and rifles up.

Raising a hand in their direction, Spider-Man halted their advance; "Let me check it out first guys." He warned before jumping onto Orga's stomach. Creeping gently up the monster's chest, he kept a wary eye on the fingers and tongue, the first things that might betray consciousness.

"Alright… still incapacitated… hopefully you're not a light sleeper."

Reaching up to Orga's left eye, he grabbed a fistful of the webbing and tore it away, exposing the blankness of a rolled-back orb.

"There, now we just-"

All of a sudden the iris rotated, and Spider-Man's image was reflected in a pupil that contracted upon seeing him.

"uh-oh."

The sound of bones scraping against each other and joints snapping back into place was matched by physical convulsions, internal organ and skeletal systems repairing themselves. Orga made a pitiful gurgling sound as the surface of his chest rose and fell asymmetrically.

" _The pain…"_ Orga thought, but his savage mind was already working past it, the regenerative factors of both Godzilla and the Hulk minimizing the effects. And now with a source of such tremendous biology at hand, the drive to consume, to adapt, to make himself the ultimate life-form on this planet fueled his vitality. It was the sole purpose for which he was evolved, to the end that someday he might be able to overcome the fury of his species' ancient enemy.

"Aww…." Spider-Man groaned. "I could'a gone the rest of my life without this."

Monstrous jaws lunged at him, but they missed by inches, Orga's neck still fixed at an odd angle. Leaping back out of the creature's reach, Spider-Man watched as Orga slowly, jerkily turned over onto his stomach.

"OPEN FIRE!" The officer in charge yelled to the rest of his men, the clamor of semi-automatics filling the street. Orga flinched but the bullets did nothing as he orientated his body in their direction.

"Why isn't that thing attacking?" Spider-Man had to wonder aloud, watching the monster glare at the men. What he couldn't see from where he was standing, was the yellow glow building in the pit of Orga's left shoulder.

The beam of concussive energy erupted from the biological canon, obliterating a police cruiser and a clothing storefront behind it. The officers and Spider-Man dove to the ground as the ray swung right over their heads, creating a path of demolition and explosions. Roaring in fury, Orga dug his fingers in the asphalt, a living weapon platform for his retaliation.

"Can I go back to the monsters that didn't shoot death beams?" Spider-Man exclaimed to no-one but himself.

A barrage of heavy explosive fire into his right flank was finally enough to interrupt the attack; a team of body-armor clad officer had taken a position atop a five-story building and were using their vantage to take shots with the grenade launchers mounted to the underside of their rifles.

Orga wailed under their assault, his body battered by another volley of shells. Slobber flying in ropes from his jaws, the monster raised both fists high above its head, and brought them down in the direction of the building. The entire block shook from the impact, shattering windows and launching cars and people three-feet off the ground.

The crater generated a fissure in the street that wound its crooked way towards the building, where it cracked the structure down the middle, causing one officer to lose his balance and stumble over the edge. He screamed as he fell, the sound catching in his throat as he suddenly came to a stop in a hammock of webbing.

Standing atop Orga's head, Spider-Man exhaled a sigh of relief, his arms extended in front of him, "Whew! That was a close one!"

Orga swung his left hand to squish the hero, but Spider-Man deftly moved aside, allowing the monster to smash his own skull.

"Why ya hittin' yourself?" Acting quickly, Spider-Man doused the hand in webbing, plastering it stuck to Orga's head. Trying to pry its hand away, Orga forgot about the red-and-blue hero scuttling over him and lumbered about recklessly.

Hunkered down on the monster's back, Spider-Man shot a web-line to the ground and tethered it to Orga's tail, stopping it from spinning around.

"Heel boy! Sit!"

Crawling onto Orga's free hand, Spider-Man positioned himself to prevent him from using it to wrest the other by putting his back to the palm, out of reach of the fingers, and shoving it away with his legs.

"Gotta pin you down somehow!"

Throwing his hands to either side, Spider-Man cast web lines to the pavement behind him, and pulled as hard as he could to force the hand down.

"Come on!" He said in exertion, struggling against the brute strength of the monster. Steadily but surely he pinned the hand against the ground and proceeded to secure it down with more webbing.

"That should do it!"

Rolling out of the palm, Spider-Man saw the tears in the adhesive already stretching to the point of snapping, Orga mewling as he was compelled to totter on its heels by the awkward stance. Seeing the human in front of him, the ancient Kaiju let out a long cry as the yearning to assimilate the DNA pushed aside any other thought but to close his mouth around Spider-Man.

Taking a second to observe the situation, Peter Parker's face hardened under the mask. "Trust me, you won't be any uglier after this!"

Squatting down in front of the Millennian, he launched his body at an angle, and drove his right fist into Orga's lower jaw with all the power he could deliver. A tremendous crack confirmed the bone Spider-Man felt breaking before his blow, splitting the jaw in half.

The monster reeled and fell at last to the pavement, a trickle of black & yellow slime oozing from an open wound in the center of its chin. A low gurgling murmur were the last sounds to escape before his eyes finally rolled over, his head leaning back and to the left.

Spider-Man stood in place, his right arm still posed across his chest from throwing the punch. He blinked, still stunned at what he had done. That was until the adrenaline wore off and he felt the throbbing pain in his hand.

"Tssssssssss… OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Clutching his kinked hand to his chest, Spider-Man doubled over, dancing on his toes to help deal with the pain of several broken and fractured phalanges.

"Ge-yieshe! What is that freak made of? Adamantium?"

Spider-Man's own accelerated healing rate notwithstanding, his right hand was incapacitated. The sensation of stabbing pain even now crept-up his forearm, the shock having done damage to his Radius and Ulna, and into the ligaments of the elbow.

"Man, how am I gonna explain to aunt May why my arm's in a sling for the next week?"

Limping beside Orga and stepping over the arm, Spider-Man came to rest his body against the beast's head.

"Ya know… If you big, tall, and destructive types keep showing-up in my city, I'm gonna have to stop being such a good host."

He reached over and gripped Orga's jaw with his good hand, pushing the lip back and forth as he spoke in a faux deep voice; "I'm sorry Spider-Man, I'll go back and tell the others to stay in New Jersey where we belong."

"I'm afraid he comes from a little farther away than that".

Descending in their hovering vehicle, The Fantastic Four gazed at Spider-Man with mirthful admiration, Reed Richards smiling proudly.

"Oh, hey guys" The young hero greeted, giving them a weary wave. "You showed-up right on time."

"Sorry we weren't here sooner," Susan apologized, climbing out of the Fantasticar "This fella caught us by surprise. Turns out he's from the same world as Godzilla."

"Yeah." Thing grumbled, the craft leaning over as he piled out of his seat, "Apparently there's a whole crew of 'em got loose."

"But you guys, the Avengers, and the X-Men are all kicking their butt right?" Spider-Man asked hopefully. "Got it all under control?"

The family shared a nervous glance between them. Finally Johnny Storm spoke-up, "uuuhh, kinda-sorta"

"But don't worry," Reed interjected, "Now that you've defeated Orga, we can contain him and send him back."

"Orga?" A bemused Peter Parker responded, thumbing in the monster's direction. "Is that what this thing is called? He was trying to eat me! I was gonna name him Wilson, since he has such a striking resemblance."

"Not exactly," Using his tablet to project images of the Millennian fight with Godzilla, Reed showed them the process by which it adapted. "He's not trying to eat you, per say, just adapt whatever genetic material it thought would be useful to thrive here."

"With his mouth?"

Reed grimaced, "Well… yes… with, with his mouth."

The video in the projection exploded with its depiction of Godzilla blowing Orga apart from the inside.

"Ha!" Spider-Man laughed, leaning his back against the monster's head, and thumping it with a fist; "Guess you bit off a little more than you could chew huh?"

In an instant, Orga's head turned and Spider-Man was consumed in one gulp, the monster swallowing him whole.

The Fantastic Four were so stunned, they stopped breathing.

 **THE XAVIER INSTITUTE**

" _Where am I? And why am I here?"_

Professor Xavier awoke with a start, and was shocked to see nothing but darkness around him. He was floating freely in the horizonless void, with no indication of up or down, motion or inertia. He could look down and see his hands, his legs; but it was as if he was the only thing in existence. He glanced to his left, then to his right, and saw more nothing, and nobody. There was however, the unmistakable feeling of not being alone, that there were eyes watching him, inspecting him, eyes ready to blink.

Xavier swung his arms to generate some momentum to traverse the vacuum, but he felt nothing.

"Hello!" He called out to his unseen observer, hoping for some response or stimuli for orientation. But there was none, not even the echo of his own voice to comfort him. His breathing hardened, ignoring the lack of the sensation of air passing into his lungs.

" _Where… are we?"_

The voice came from a pinpoint in the blackness, and dripped with hatred, spoken with a snarl. Xavier searched for the source, and fading into existence from nothing came a glowing orange trilateral crystal. From either side grew pointed barbs near the top. As it got closer, or simply enlarged, it began to throb slowly with an inner light.

The professor stared at it, its ambient energy feeling alien to the sensory capacity of the man. "Did you… did you ask me that question?"

A twisted whip of orange lighting shot out of the crystal and enveloped Xavier's body, consuming his form in vivid fire. He screamed, Charles Xavier screamed in torment as the lightning boiled every nerve, he screamed until he thought his molars would burst.

When the beam finally relented, he was left breathing raggedly, but the pain had instantly subsided, as if it had never occurred at all.

" _Why… am I here?"_ The entity repeated.

"I don't bloody know why you're here!" Xavier yelled back angrily, "How can you not know yourself?" Whatever this creature was, it had no right to bring ruin to his institute, or to torment him. His anger began to overtake his fear, and the dynamics of this environment lost the dreadfulness. He felt his own psyche mustering in strength, hatred for the monster dispelling intimidation.

There was no response from the crystal, instead it seemed to draw back, become smaller. Whatever it was, Xavier thought, could possibly be a victim itself of someone else's machinations. But evil was evil, no matter the circumstance, and every fiber of his being, physical and mental was telling him this thing had malevolent intentions.

"Show me what happened." He asked the entity, taking a grave risk to his own mind. "Show me what you remember."

The strange crystal's light dimmed, then increased, and dimmed again. Charles could feel the indecision, the wariness, the confusion. It was palpable, though more concerning was what was hidden. As a master of the mind, Xavier could sense when someone possessed incredible power, but was hiding it, and behind the hesitation, was a tsunami of malicious brawn.

Xavier had no illusion that this creature could be trusted, but if he could get it to reveal something about itself, a strength or a weakness, then he could begin to formulate some plan.

"If you show me something, maybe I can help you get back."

At that suggestion the crystal convulsed, the orange light flashing bright momentarily. Every second the entity waned, Xavier waxed. Seizing the opportunity take control of the encounter, Charles altered the world around them, and from the shadow emerged the finely groomed back lawn of the mansion. Not the war zone that it was in reality, but rather a clam and sunny spring afternoon. He set his feet down into the soft grass blades, and across from him the crystal remained surrounded by a dark nimbus.

But the entity was not going to be corralled just yet, behind it the shade spread, this time with tiny bits of light embedded throughout. This was not the same dimensionless void, it was some portion of space. Then formed the nebulae and galaxy clouds, the shine of distant suns giving depth to the imagery.

 _"I was…..here."_ It spoke with a throaty growl _._ The orange crystal folding into itself, and transformed into the same asteroid-like figure that had first appeared in the outer atmosphere. The being was floating along in silence over the dark side of a cold and lifeless planet, the star that held this particular system in thrall was a Red Giant.

 _"I was…far away."_

This creature, despite its apparent nature, had been secluding itself in some remote part of space. None of this was making any sense so far.

 _"Then something…came."_

Between the crystal asteroid and the planet, a roiling vortex of aubergine smoke and lightning bloomed, and within seconds was sucking the entity into its center.

"You were captured…" Xavier let the notion linger, trying to comprehend what was occurring. If this was what happened to this thing, then perhaps this was the cause behind the other strange appearances.

The asteroid was finally engulfed in the storm, at the last second the face in the center of the body was exposed to the light of the star, and Xavier saw the snarling face of the space monster.

Instantly he recognized the face. It was different of course, a bit thinner in the snout, small tusks on either side of the mouth, and the cranial protrusion that Charles could see was the same that served as a mental avatar.

It was Godzilla, but some bizarre and malformed version of the monster that was currently evading everyone in the Atlantic ocean. If this creature was some relative, an astral-cousin, then he was dealing with an entity commanding truly fearsome power.

The vision on the monster's side of the became violent, the journey through the portal, from one universe to another was a phantasmagoric nightmare. Xavier could sense the bewilderment of the creature, and when it emerged from the other side, the rage and fear causing it to attack the first thing it saw, the SWORD station.

 _So that was how it happened._ Charles realized, something was bringing them here. There were still so many pieces to this puzzle missing

Deciding to take another gamble, Xavier morphed his side of the mindscape to display the images that he had received from Jean, those of Godzilla, and the destruction caused in New York. His translucent doppelganger standing behind the professor, Godzilla loosed a roar.

The imagery of the other side twisted and warped at the sound, shrinking and condensing to a form of similar height to Xavier's astral body. With a brilliant flash of light, the entity became a projection of its true self, long sinewy tail, crystal blocks jutting from the shoulders, and the same upright posture as the terrestrial kin.

SpaceGodzilla stared up at the holographic visage of his counterpart, fangs bared as he watched it move in place. The projection of Godzilla turned its head towards SpaceGodzilla, which caused the stellar kaiju to snarl and wail aggressively. The psychic landscape around them rippled, and the tranquil courtyard was torn apart by crystal spires erupting from the ground.

A rising shard caused Xavier to stumble, the loss of concentration making the holograph of Godzilla falter and dissipate. Charles could feel it now, the monster was beginning to exercise some of its greater power. Reasserting his own will, he tried to alter the environment again, the crystals becoming trees.

SpaceGodzilla's focus shifted to Xavier, realizing that this other being was the one trying to countermand his constructs. The cosmic villain launched a direct wave of telepathic force at the professor that splintered the trees and caused the whole mindscape to quake. Charles put his arms out to deflect the attack, and met the brunt of it with his own determination. His knees buckled and his arms bowed, but Xavier was steadily able to push back the swell. The forward momentum of the force was stopped, and began being moved in the opposite direction.

The monster balked and tried to reinforce the push, but by now Charles had brought enough of his own psychic potency to bear that the border between them went back to a median range. Xavier could feel the increasing strain of having to match SpaceGodzilla's output, the barrier becoming more turbulent, the aubergine foam convulsing and flaring. The world around them started to fall apart, degrading back into blackness as the two minds that maintained it put more of their concentration into the struggle.

SpaceGodzilla's shade began to step forward, growling menacingly as it walked over the fading ground. Each tread echoed into the void, the shine from its crystal protrusions glowing brighter.

"I don't know what you want here monster." Xavier yelled over, himself striding to meet the conflict. "But I am not going to allow you to bring destruction and ruin to my world!"

With only a few paces between them, Xavier shoved out his side of the barrier, throwing it back in SpaceGodzila's face. The line of fuming psychic energy was halted mere inches from the monster's snout, the violence of the increasingly unstable force causing it to turn its face aside and take a step back.

This small submission gave Charles reason to express a stern smirk "Whatever power you think you have, I promise it will not avail you here!"

With another step forward, Xavier sent out his own telepathic shockwave, this one colliding into the other and finally causing them both to explode in a brilliant multicolored burst. SpaceGodzilla shrieked and was thrown backwards, tumbling end over end for a few seconds before stabilizing.

Charles could see the hatred in the eyes of the cosmic monster, the sharp gleam of light in the pupils narrowing finely. A twisted bolt of orange energy raced out from its maw, and jabbed at Xavier who deflected it with a wave of his hand at the last second. SpaceGodzilla lunged forward, fangs and claws bared like a lion, the girth of his body no hindrance in the mindscape. While it had been a few years since Xavier had been in any physical danger, it was even longer since he had been able to dodge an attack by diving to the side.

The alien creature snarled and roared at Xavier, the instinctual behavior of his bloodline rearing its head. But Charles was past the point of being intimidated, and lashed out himself with a right fist into SpaceGodzilla's jaw. Charles Xavier let himself be carried through the strike, his fist scraping against the monster's rough skin and his whole body continuing the momentum. Time seemed to slow down in the void, whether it be the lack of conventional physics, or what must be the resonance of SpaceGodzilla in shock.

"Professor!"

Charles recognized the voice calling out to him. _Jean_ , he thought. Snapping out of the time displacement, Xavier looked around for any sign of his student's entry into the psyche.

"JEAN!" he called out, trying to give her something to move towards. Then he felt her, off to the side, and there she was. Standing by herself in total blackness, her face was overcome with relief to see her mentor, Xavier frankly a bit surprised to see that she was able to find a way into the psyche.

"Jean, is everyone-" he began to ask, but her face changed in a moment to a mask of terror, and she reached out to him.

"Look out!"

As Charles turned back to SpaceGodzilla, a flash of light from the left shoulder crystal stunned him, and he never saw real attack concealed by the diversion. The barbed tip of SpaceGodzilla's tail dug itself deep into Xavier's right side, piercing through the psychic flesh and twisting to inflict maximum injury. The professor screamed in pain, his mind's avatar suffering from the penetration.

But what SpaceGodzilla had not anticipated however, was that he had not inflicted the type of harm to Xavier it wanted, rather something much different. So as Charles clutched at his impalement, a tremor of telepathic shock traveled back up the tail and ruptured into the beast, paralyzing it in turn. The connection had instead forced a mental channel between the two parties deep and unrestricted, bypassing the conscious will that would prevent one side from revealing more than it wanted.

Memories and emotions traversed the connection both ways, Xavier and SpaceGodzilla inundated with flashes of the other's life.

The stellar kaiju saw a kaleidoscope of memories; some pleasant, some horrible. Sitting in a classroom, watching friends in a combat simulation, seeing Jean Grey graduate from college, pointing his finger in the face of a man in an ominous helmet. Other memories were more emotion than imagery; some kind of internment camp in flames and ruin was rife with desperation, a newscast about a shooting in San Francisco brought intense heartbreak, cowering before a huge flame that loomed over the mansion hands trembling in fear.

Xavier's consciousness was shown things far more primal in perception. A sense of self emerging while distant stars exploded, curiosity about the surroundings fostering intelligence. Watching small, brightly colored beings on an alien world run for their live as their cities gave birth to towering crystal spikes from the ground. Standing on a field opposite Godzilla, sensing instinctively that he was related to you somehow, a mysterious bond drawing them together. Burning in fire as Godzilla stood over him, his body ravaged from a battle, and crying out in rage.

The exchange had occurred in an instant inside their micro-psyches, and that was enough time for Jean Grey to come barreling in with a blast of her own prowess to knock back SpaceGodzilla. The tail barb was dislodged as the monster reeled, and Xavier simply levitated in place, having no gravity or inertia to move him. Jean tried to move towards him, but the awkwardness of the dimension prevented her from reaching him.

"How the hell did the monster do it?!" She yelled in frustration, straining her arm as she reached out. Xavier's eyes were closed, his face pinched in agony, the rest of his body motionless, a beam of soft red glowing out of the gash in his abdomen like a lantern.

Reptilian eyes snapped open, finally recovering from the surprisingly potent blow, and the blue space-demon now fixated on the woman, who he now understood as being called Jean Grey. But it wasn't that she had attacked him that concerned him, it was that he now knew of the immense power hidden deep-down inside her. Power he wanted for himself.

With the other one incapacitated, SpaceGodzilla's instinct was to strike hard and fast, and take down the remaining opposition. A Corona beam lashed out from his maw, psychically directed in a winding route towards Jean.

She saw the attack coming, and something welled up inside her in response. Even in the empty void, the crack of the Corona's whip raced across the space like a bolt of lightning, and in that time the power that dwelled within Jean, drawn out by the siblings of the rage and pain of seeing her mentor being harmed. Turning her body, she extended her right arm and projected a torrent of fire that collided into the Corona beam, the two forces engulfed one another and the combustion magnifying into an earsplitting supernova.

The blast radius shattered the imaginary reality, and the three minds were driven out.

The next thing Jean saw was a forest of grass blades, accompanied by the sound of grotesque wails. As her vision cleared and stopped spinning, her realization of the situation returned. She was on her stomach and began to push off, but a sudden throb of pain in her head brought her back down.

"uuurrrrrr…" The feeble groan from Jean was all she could muster under her own power. She felt two sets of hands grab onto her and she heard the voices of Bobby Drake and the SHIELD agent Makon fretting over her.

"Get her back! Bring her back!" She could hear the older man yell.

Drake and Makon held Jean by her arms and dragged her back to the protective circle with the others n what used to be the front lawn of the institute. A few feet away Moonstar and another of the agents were wheeling the Professor in the same direction, Charles Xavier unconscious and slumped over in his chair. The rest of the agents surrounded the huddling students, their rifles at the high-ready.

Their attention was collectively drawn upwards by the seething grumble of the real SpaceGodzilla, all 100 meters of him. The crystal colossus' body, much like Xavier's, leaned against the largest of the spires, breathing raggedly. The toll of the psychic battle had left all three of them drained, but unlike the humans, the cosmic kaiju could draw vitality from many sources.

Arcs of white lighting from the crystals shot out to connect to SpaceGodzilla's shoulders, the quartz acting to both absorb and channel ambient sources of energy. Radiation both terrestrial and solar, electricity and chemical, the secret weapon of his race was its manipulation of energy. Like a lightning rod, the crystal towers drew power from all around to revitalize him.

Normally SpaceGodzilla would have as much time as it needed to regain its strength, it could rest for days, weeks, even months in orbit around a star or better yet a quasar. But a series of violent explosions against his back jolted him out of the meditative state. His eyelids snapping open, and he caught sight of the six fighter jets streaking overhead and banking off to the right. Tracking them as they circled around, his contempt for their pathetic effort to harm him refocused him away from the humans.

The jets launched another volley of missiles, but when they got close, they exploded against a shimmering translucent barrier. SpaceGodzilla's protective shield dissipated, and with an effortless exertion of his mind, he snatched the planes from the air and smashed them all together. As a single fiery ball of twisted metal, jet fuel, and human souls plummeted to the ground, SpaceGodzilla glared at the wreckage.

With the small distraction dealt with, he turned back to the humans, but a snarl warped his face when he saw that they were gone.

Inside what remained of the mansion, Agent Makon and Bobby Drake led the group through a hallway littered with the rubble of fallen portraits, masonry, and small fires. Cracks ran up and down the walls, the entire structure suffering from having it's west wing crushed. One of the physically larger agents carried Jean Grey in his arms, while she herself groggily tried to look back to make sure all the students were still with them. Another set of agents pushed Xavier's chair in the center of the group,

A roar from the outside threatened to shatter the windows as they ran past, causing the younger among them to cry out in fear.

"He knows!" Makon yelled when they rounded a corner. "How much farther?!"

"Two more doors of the left!" Drake told him, a tremor shaking the building. "The Cerebro chamber is reinforced, built to survive the mansion getting nuked!"

Skidding to a halt in front of a wall panel, Bobby moved a wall sconce aside to uncover a retinal scanner. A funnel of blue light projected across his face until a small chime signaled his authorization. The wall section backed into a recess and slid to the side, exposing a long well-lit sterile hallway.

Agent Makon posted at the threshold as the others passed him by, "Kid you better hope so."

As he followed the last of his agents in, the whistle of artillery fire drew his eyes upwards for a moment before he closed the door behind him.

Outside, a rainfall of 155 and 105 millimeter artillery shells slammed into SpaceGodzilla. With an angry wail, he levitated off the ground, transforming into his crystal asteroid, and set off in the direction the bombardment had come from.

/

 _Author's note:_

 _Thank you guys again for checking out the Godzilla/Marvel Saga, December was a banner month for the story, and I know this chapter will help push the viewcount over 1,000!_

 _I've put years of thought and practice into this story, I'm delighted you've enjoyed it sofar, and I hope to continue to provide you with quality crossover content for years to come as the saga continues._


	14. Chapter 14: Beast's Gambit

**2256 HRS. YESTERDAY**

 **TOKYO, JAPAN**

 **Japan Self-Defense Forces**

 **CENTRAL COMMAND HUB**

 **{Godzilla-verse}**

Dozens of military and civilian personnel went about busily in the central observation room. It was a Spartan work environment, virtually everything was grey or some dim shade of silver. The entrée of the room was the nearly floor-to-ceiling display monitor, which at the moment depicted a topographical map of Japan overlaid with grid sections. Moving back from there were two rows of monitor stations, long banks of computers with individual partitions for the uniformed staff.

Behind them were two similar stations side by side, but half the length, where four supervisors sat. Up on the dais in the rear of the room, was the U-shaped cadre table, the seats for which were reserved for department heads and the HUB commander. Between this and the wall were work stations for their aides, and a few glass maps in frames, different sections of Japan for strategic marking.

Henry McCoy, more usually known as Beast sat at the command table, his image inducer activated to give him a human appearance. Deciding it was better to not distract the staff with his peculiar exterior, he opted to assume a conventional form. After his friends had gone back to their native world in pursuit of Godzilla and Mothra, he had remained behind to consult with Admiral Taizo.

Beast had spent the last several hours lobbying the admiral to allow Kiryu to cross over, and help with recovering Godzilla. His request had been politely declined by Taizo himself, and totally spurned by the administrative cadre. Both Godzilla and Mothra were gone, two monsters that would at least keep strange invasive Kaiju in check. There was no way, they explained quite vigorously, that they were going to allow their best defense to leave them vulnerable.

What didn't help his case, was a pair of incidents that popped-up on the JSDF radar. The first was a security breach at the EDF base in Greenland, something regarding the remains of a Kaiju kept there. The other was a potential sighting in the waters off southern Hokkaido. They had no confirmation for identity, but the Anti-Megalosaurus Division of the JSDF, of which Kiryu was a part, was on alert.

Unlike the dynamics of mutants and other powered people in his world, there seemed to be some underlying connective tissue between the Kaiju here. When one got riled-up, others apparently reacted, either by increased sightings or direct contact with mankind. Like ripples going out from a dropped stone, Beast deduced, the monsters were attuned to some force not yet defined.

So Henry McCoy sat with his arms crossed over his chest, his seat at the main table due to his unique status as something approximating a diplomat. Dressed in a shirtsleeve dress shirt, he looked like an out-of-place office worker among the military uniforms. The hustle and bustle of the room was quite for the most part, some soft talking between monitor stations, and the occasional to-and-fro of the staff.

To his right sat Major Akane Yoshiro, another senior JSDF commander, she having gone through a stack of paperwork for the last hour. Fighting monsters wasn't all bombs and masers, there was a lot of administrative and bureaucratic form-filling involved.

Two seats to Beast's left was Admiral Taizo, his own collection of documents in front of him. But instead of busying himself in the doldrums, he rested with his elbow on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose. It had been a very long day, up at 0430 to prepare for the encounter with Godzilla, then a nonstop parade of briefs, meetings, and overseeing troop-deployment after their defeat.

Beast himself had been present for many of those meetings, others were classified. More than a few times he had been prompted to reveal his true form to officials, each time getting a mix of shock and bewilderment. Then very quickly the excitement died down. Of all the fantastic things they had seen in their lives, he supposed a furry blue man was rather low-tier.

Earlier while coming back to the station from a meeting, Henry and Taizo had had a long talk about why officials had been so ready to take the fellowship up on their offer of help. Riding in the back of the car, the Admiral had given a brief exposition on their history with strange outsiders offering help. Between Xillians, Simeons, Nebulans, and time-traveling con-artists, the record wasn't very good. But none of them had actually succeeded in their aims of invasion and extermination. So over time the air of invincibility of would-be conquerors eroded, and awe gave way to the type of strategic thinking of conventional warfare.

Granted, Beast and the others had shown their real selves while surrounded by raised rifles, combined with their subtle entrance and willingness to share up-front went a long way towards not having them shot on sight. Plus there was the 'desperate times' factor, with the threat of the returning Godzilla.

Beast retained the Portal Sphere in a locked briefcase that he kept beside him, and thusly could return at any time. But he needed to stay and learn more about what his allies were dealing with, and more specifically, why exactly after decades of failed attempts to subdue Godzilla, was Kiryu consistently effective. With a 2-1 win ratio against Godzilla, Kiryu had also been successful in combating other monsters, a silver sentinel over Japan.

If only he could convince Admiral Taizo to let him borrow Kiryu, for 24 hours at least, just long enough to make sure his world was safe.

"Admiral…" Beast began, breaking the quite at the table. "I was thinking that I could perhaps observe Kiryu in the field, examine how he operates."

Slowly, Taizo took his hand away from his face and gave Beast a weary look.

"That could be arranged, but unless there is Kaiju threat, we cannot authorize its deployment."

"You mean something like that?" McCoy asked, pointing a finger to where the blip on the main screen slightly south-east of Kushiro on Hokkaido was pulsing.

One of the civilian staff among the monitor banks, a young man, stood and turned towards the command dais.

{translated from Japanese}

"New message from the observation team off Hokkaido!"

"What is it?" Major Yoshiro called, at last rescued from the interminable boredom of the paperwork.

"They've identified the Kaiju… It's the Burtannus twins!"

Taizo and Akane traded worried glances before rising from their seats.

"Mr. McCoy." Admiral Tachibana said over his shoulder as he donned his cap. "I believe this is your chance."

* * *

 **NEXT DAY**

On the shore of Kushiro, like the day before in Tokyo, the JSDF had staged a bulwark against the ocean. Tanks formed a defensive position along the waterfront, their cannons loaded and gunners anticipating the command to fire. It was a languid mid-day, with waves lapping over the surface, and seagulls hovering on the winds. The sounds of the city, usually bustling with commerce and activity were now silent.

One soldier, placing his hand against the side of an armored personnel carrier, let out a yawn and scratched at the back of his head, letting his rifle drop lazily to his hip. The droning sound of an aircraft approaching from behind drew his attention, and when he turned, he was struck by the sight of a massive machine being airlifted towards the mobilization scene.

With the sun gleaming off of Kiryu's metal skin, the four White Heron aircraft in its service glided along in precise coordination, two attached front and back by the transportation cables, the others flanked to either side.

Riding in the jet over Kiryu's left shoulder, Beast sans the image inducer, looked down at the stoic mecha, marveling at the ingenuity underneath the armor. Built over the skeleton of the first Godzilla, it was the finest evolution of anti-Kaiju weapons platforms. The first had been a siege engine of the invading Black Hole Aliens, the second a powerful but inefficient instrument of the United Nations. This third generation was a leap forward in armament, mobility, and technological capabilities. Mankind finally had a viable instrument to beat back the monsters, and it belonged to Japan.

"Quite a view huh, Mr. McCoy?" Lieutenant Azusa Kisaragi commented from the pilot seat in Japanese. "You should see the big guy in action."

He was genuinely happy to be with them, and could not suppress a grin. "We don't have anything like him back home, I'll admit. But as Seneca said, "Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body." Part of the conditions the team laid on him for the ride-along, was that he had to go without the image inducer, they would only accept him in all his blue furry goodness.

"Normally we don't allow civilians anywhere near our vehicles, but since your demonstration this morning, me and the guys were thinking of petition higher to make you a member of the squadron."

At this Beast chuckled, recalling the exhibition of his own piloting skills he put on for the Kiryu Squadron this morning.

"The Herons are quite agile considering their primary functions, though not as much as a Quinjet."

The team and mechanics had been performing routine maintenance when Beast offered a helping hand. Some fault in the wiring had kept sending false signals to both the pilot and gunner's control display, and the crew had been racking their brains to find out what it was. Beast stepped in and was able to not only fix the problem, he had discovered another more serious fault in the emergency eject disengagement mechanism. The first problem had prevented discovery of the second.

Deciding amongst themselves, the tight-knit squadron had allowed Beast to go for a short test flight, just to make sure everything was in working order of course. Impressed by his handling, it was agreed that McCoy could sit in on what should be a routine mission to shoo away the young Kaiju. Much to the dismay of Kisaragi's usual partner Shiro.

The plan was for Kiryu to deter the twins from making landfall, and hopefully avoid any damage to the city or injury to the monsters. Supporting Kiryu would be members of the vaunted EDF anti-Kaiju subdivision, Organization M, ground troops born with enhanced abilities that enabled them to maneuver around the titans, and even combat Tier 3 and Tier 2 monsters.

"Big babies at our 4'o clock!" came the voice of another squadron member through the headsets.

Out on the water, the nasal horns of the two young creatures breached the surface, their squealing more of a strained bellow than the fearsome roar so customary of Kaiju. They swam through the water propelled by thick muscular tails, using what seemed like a doggy-paddle technique.

There wasn't much information on the species Beast had found out, the files having been made available to him after their identification. The dark brown creatures were quadrupeds, but shifted to bipedal if needed. They were covered by thick armor of scutes over their bodies, which according to EDF reports rendered them invulnerable to most conventional weaponry. Normally subterranean, the few times they'd been documented had been in coastal waters. Their faces were beaked, and topped with a nasal horn, which while surprisingly strong, could also conduct a powerful electric shock. Their tails were massive compared to the rest of their bodies, but instead of weighing them down, the tails could contract and extend, allowing the spikes that covered the appendage to bite into the soil, and actually do most of the work in propelling them along.

A private organization called the Kaiju Research Institute on the _Nullius Ager_ island chain, has conducted research into non-harmful means to track them and divert them from human settlements. But their reclusive nature simply hasn't given investigators enough data to work with. Fortunately, the advance warning gave local associates time to set-up an observation post. Using the gunners display in front of him, Beast scanned the shorefront and saw the three-person team located on top of a building, an array of equipment spread out and pointed towards the water. Zooming in, he saw a young brunette woman with a tablet coordinating the others.

McCoy had run across the KRI a number of times in his brief examination of various files. " _I'll definitely have to make a visit there."_ He remembered thinking to himself.

"Everybody's turned out for this." Azusa muttered. "Sometimes we get encounters like this, more nature show documentary than scary monster attack."

"Not surprising" Beast replied, watching one of the twins bump the other playfully, the other responding by snapping at its head. For a moment he wondered about what kind of evolutionary path could lead to these animals. He envisioned a more primitive version of them burrowing into the ground, perhaps using their horn to stun unwary prey as they lay in wait just below the surface. "Most of them are just large animals, with neither good or ill motive."

"That's the thing McCoy." She said with a sigh. "Monsters are tragic beings. They're born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They're not evil by choice, that is their tragedy."

The sentiment caught Beast off guard, and he stared at the back of the pilot's seat, contemplating what she said.

"I never thought of it that way Ms. Kisaragi, that's quite an idea."

"It's Ishiro Honda, Japan's first director to make a film about a Kaiju attack. He was a bit of a sentimentalist."

"And you a budding philosopher?"

"A movie buff." Azusa said, glancing back at Beast with a smile.

Kiryu's feet hit the ground with a thud, all eyes turning to the touchdown of Japan's guardian. The Heron's cables detached from the anchor points and retracted into the bellies of the carrier craft, allowing the entire squadron to break off and rally into a holding pattern.

"Captain Akiba will handle the manual controls." She told him. "The rest of us are on lookout."

"For the mother right?"

"Oooh yeah."

While the danger from the twins was minimal, the juvenile Kaiju more curious than aggressive, their parent was another matter entirely. Like a mother bear guarding her cubs, the parent Burtannus was known to be highly aggressive towards humans and other Kaiju, especially when her young are present, which is always the case.

One case wherein the twins came under attack by an Ookondoru, Burtannus bit one of the cephalopods tentacles, and swung it around like a rag doll. This resulted in the unfortunate Ookondoru being torn apart viciously over several minutes, becoming food for the young.

Much like the babes, the mother was an armored juggernaut, and nothing had ever been observed to pierce her hide, or do more than just enrage her.

The defense forces certainly had their work cut out for them, Beast mused to himself as he watched Kiryu shift his position to face the water. The twins were only a few hundred meters from the shoreline, and the ground forces were taking up their final positions.

"Does Kiryu even have any non-lethal means to repel them?" asked the X-Man.

"Kinda-sorta." was Azusa's wary response. "More like warning shots."

Kiryu postured like his biological counterpart, throwing his shoulders back and loosing a loud roar. The roar itself was artificial, designed to mimic Godzilla's as a way to intimidate other Kaiju. It also had the side effect of confusing the hell out of Godzilla himself, like a dog looking in a mirror.

The twins froze in place, apparently unsure of how to react. Then they suddenly surged ahead, redoubling their speed.

"Huh." Beast heard Azusa mumble. "That's odd."

Now Kiryu lowered his posture, stomping a foot and trying another, louder roar. The Burtannus pups answered with their own calls.

Beast had seen behavior like this before.

"They think Kiryu is a parent."

A shocked Kisaragi turned in her seat. "What?"

"They're calling back to him like a cub to their parent. For whatever reason, they think he's one of their parents."

Azusa had to take a few moments to comprehend the idea. "Man… I never knew Godzilla had some action on the side."

Beast guffawed, "I don't mean to say that he actually could be, my dear. But something in the roar seems to have struck a chord with them."

Entering the part of the water shallow enough for them to stand, the twins stared at Kiryu, pausing to appraise the metallic titan.

Beast focused in on the monsters, and noticed the condition of their eyes. He saw that they were blinking frequently and angling their eyes to examine Kiryu. And then it struck him.

"It's their senses. The Burtanni aren't just subterranean, they're underdeveloped. If the mother has a perceptible electrical signature, as I suspect she does to be able to discharge it through her horn, then the cubs could be sensing a similar phenomena coming from Kiryu. That, combined with their poor eyesight, could be what's fooling them."

"Well they aren't going to be fooled for long." Azusa said, breaking Beast's chain of thought.

The support her, a data window appeared on each of their screens, displaying a satellite feed of seismic activity in their surrounding area. A massive signature moving underground was heading for their position on the shore.

"Do you think Kiryu can handle a confrontation with the mother?" Beast asked her.

"I'd put Kiryu up against the best and baddest monsters on the planet. That said," She began with hesitation. "This may be a real slugfest."

An encounter with the aggressive mother imminent, the time for kid gloves had expired. The young monsters had begun to circle warily around Kiryu, but a swinging tail slam cut them off from going further towards land. They squealed in fright, but scampered back a few paces nonetheless.

It was decided that the best option at this point was to try and lure them back out to sea. It had to be done quickly, because like a mother bear, the parent would tolerate no potential threat to her babes, and the waterfront would become a war zone.

The thrusters in the back and thighs kicked on, lifting Kiryu off the ground. Slowly, so as to not lose the attention of the Burtanni, he hovered over to the water, and slid out away from the shore. The twins traded a brief glance before plodding back into the deeper water to pursue their object of affection.

The tactic worked for a few moments, until something spooked them. In an instant the twins froze, then ran wailing in the other direction, back to land.

"No, no, this is wrong…" Azusa tried to adjust the readings on her data screen, "They shouldn't be running away from their mother!"

"How do we know it's their mother?" Beast wondered aloud from the back seat.

Lieutenant Kisaragi's eyes went wide with the realization that they had assumed the other signature was the mother, when in fact they had no proof who had snuck in under their noses.

"Captain!" She yelled into the comms, "Be ready for a surprise!"

"Copy that." Replied an annoyed voice.

Kiryu, lacking the full complement of firepower accessories, the missile batteries and plasma gauntlets, poised in the air to defend itself. A dagger extended from the left forearm, crackling with arcs of golden electricity.

On the shore, several flares and smoke grenades were fired into the air, the flares bursting into brilliant pyrotechnics, the grenades spewing walls of acrid grey smog. The combination managed to discourage the twins from approaching further, but only for a moment. Whatever they were running from was terrible enough to push them wailing and whimpering ever closer to the edge of safety.

"It's surfacing!" Another voice in the COM system announced, verified by the animation on the display of the vague shape exiting the ocean floor strata, and emerging into the water.

Kiryu opened his maw, the sound of the maser generators accumulating for discharge put the oral weapon on a hair trigger.

With everyone watching for the furious arrival of the mother Burtannus, what breached the surface in a spray of brine, left them all with monumental relief, if not flaring irritation.

His upper torso sticking out of the water, his back to Kiryu, Baragon twitched his ears and tilted his head side to side to clear the water from the canals. He eyed the young Kaiju cubs hungrily, barking at them, taunting them, salivating to the idea of the cornered meal.

" _Kuso orokana inakamono no hakujin Yarõ Kirainahito no koto_!" Azusa exclaimed in a string of obscenities that managed to make Beast blush. "Baragon! You little trouble maker!"

Beast recalled seeing Baragon in the montage Reed Richards had shown him, trudging down the Ganges river. He hadn't the opportunity to read-up on this particular monster, but judging from his companions reaction, there was much to be learned.

"I take it you've had problems with this one before?"

Azusa slammed her fist on the armrest, "He's always following his stomach, being a pain-in-the-ass for us and the other monsters."

"I got this." Akiba muttered in an angry voice over the radio.

A bolt of yellow maser energy shot out of Kiryu's mouth, striking the water at Baragon's backside. The ruddy creature reacted like a surprised cat, shrieking as he leapt bodily out of the water.

Baragon flailed about when he came splashing back down, disoriented and comical. The comedy was lost on Beast, but by the sounds of laughter over the comms, not on the rest of the crew. Even Azusa was rocking in the seat in front of him, and he had to move the head-set away from his ear.

Finally turning to see what was behind him, Baragon recoiled to see Kiryu leveling the dagger at him, and tripped over himself trying to stumble backwards. The two stared at one another for a moment before Kiryu seized him. Baragon tried to escape by digging as fast as his stubby forelimbs would allow, but he wasn't quick enough.

With both hands Kiryu latched onto Baragon's midsection, and held the squealing nuisance upside-down. As a reflexive defense, the pot-bellied monster loosed a stream of fire into Kiryu's midsection, to no effect.

"Say goodbye to Baragon everyone." Akiba told them.

Kiryu began to rotate in place, getting progressively faster, the burrower squealing like a pig in the centrifuge. After a dozen spins, Kiryu released him, and sent Baragon hundreds of meters back out to sea.

"Sayonara Baragon!" Beast heard the rest of the crew call out as they watched him sail away.

But the X-Man was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Wait, there's still the matter of why the Burtannus came here."

"What do you mean?" Azusa questioned. "Baragon was chasing them."

"Yes, but why come here? Close to human habitation? Why not run towards their parent?"

As Kiryu hovered in the direction he had tossed Baragon, the water behind him began to rise in a bulge.

"They thought Kiryu was their parent, calling out to him." Azusa mulled the thought over, trying to make sense of things. "But they were already here when he arrived."

"What if…" McCoy teased, one conclusion colliding into another. "They weren't calling out to him."

The seawater shed off of the massive dark form, two crimson eyes glaring at the blurry silver shape.

"What if…" Beast realized with dreadful implications. "What if they were running to mother."

Seeing what had been laying in wait the entire time, Akiba turned Kiryu around to face the a very angry, poorly sighted Kaiju mother.

"Momma Burtannus…" Kisaragi let the words hang.

Burtannus rose to her hind legs, growling through the beak and bifurcated lower jaw, her children scampering behind her for protection. A tense standoff lasted for the better part of a minute, the crew watching the armored giant posture and grunt.

"Alright everyone." The captain said slowly, "I'll just circle around back to the land, and give her a nice, clear path back out to sea."

Kiryu's thigh thrusters shifted angles, and began to move him horizontally. And the second he floated to the left, Burtannus pounced. The mecha tried to thrust backwards but he was too slow for the reflexes of a living, furious animal. She latched onto him and pulled Kiryu down into the water, where they tangled in a chaotic thrash of brine and claws.

"All units!" the captain ordered, "Give Kiryu some cover! I gotta pull him out of there before he gets ripped apart!"

"Hai!" His team responded in unison, the fun of camaraderie cast aside by the discipline of battle. A shower of purple blasts from the aircraft's guns peppered Burtannus' back, distracting her and allowing the mecha to land a forearm across her jaw.

Kiryu rolled to the side, Burtannus sprawling away from him. The mecha propped himself up on his left arm, and sent a streak of oral plasma to assail his opponent, eliciting not a wail of pain, but a bellow of rage from her. Back on her four feet, she rushed forward and threw herself at Kiryu. All thrusters were on, and the two slid through the water until they skimmed the surface, Kiryu using his right hand to keep Burtannus' beak meters away from his neck.

As the heron squadron stayed in pursuit, Beast watched the android finally manage to get a handle on the Kaiju. "Captain Akiba is a gifted pilot." He remarked, thinking of how difficult it must be for him to move Kiryu fast enough to combat the living monster. Beast was likewise impressed by the engineering of such a large machine, allowing it to fight in real-time. Surely none of the Sentinels back home were capable of such reaction time, and they were a fraction the size.

Kiryu disengaged from Burtannus again, and once more she barreled right back at him. A metallic fist across the snout sent her momentum to the side, but her thick powerful tail came straight on. The limb slammed into his stomach and knocked him of his feet.

"Come on Akiba!" Asuza yelled to herself as she strafed a line of useless blasts over Burtannus' hide.

Beast had to wince at the sight of the blow, the last thing he wanted was for Kiryu to take any significant damage.

Sensing her foe was down, Burtannus lurched for the fallen defender. Hefting her tail, she aimed to bring it down on Kiryu's head, but he was able to stop it with both hands, the hydraulics and joints straining under the force. Burtannus whipped around and tried to get at his neck again, and scraped against Kiryu's cheek before a hand could grapple the nasal horn. The resistance was brief however, when the horn ignited with electricity.

Kiryu's hand was repelled, reminding everyone of the hidden weapon she brought to bear.

A strafe from the Herons to the back of Burtannus' head drew her attention. They then buzzed the children, causing them to scamper away from the shore, and all the mother saw was her babies running. Abandoning her attempt to eviscerate the machine, she lumbered after them as they fled into deeper water.

Kiryu got back to his feet, watching the rump of the Burtannus Rex sink below the waves.

"Finally!" an unspecified voice on the comms spoke out. Beast took a glance at his display panel, and saw that Kiryu's power level was at 96%. The rapid bursts of energy expenditure taking little toll after the short skirmish.

"Keep your eyes open everyone." Akiba ordered. "Her signal is heading away, but I want to make sure she's good and gone before we head back to base."

Azusa flicked a few switches as she responded "Right Captain." The four Heron jets fell back into diamond formation, and circled in a holding pattern.

"I must say the combat ended rather anti-climactically." Beast commented.

"Yeah, it happens." Azusa said casually. "Sometimes things just fizzle out. Kaiju tuck tail and run away from fights all the time."

"Well let's hope so." He muttered under his breath. Pulling a roughly constructed tablet from the breast of his suit, Beast entered a series of commands.

Azusa suddenly found herself unable to steer the Heron, which seemed to go into autopilot mode.

"Hey guys! I just lost control! Guys!"

With no immediate response from her teammates, she began to fiddle with her controls.

"I really am very sorry about this Lieutenant Kisaragi." Beast began, "But I'm afraid my friends and my world may be in some dire trouble."

"What are you talking about!?" she screamed, turning in her seat to yell at McCoy. "Are you doing this?"

"Indeed." He admitted, continuing to enter commands. "Earlier when I was working on those repairs, I took the liberty of installing some hardware that allows me to commandeer this craft, and cut-off communication."

"Why?" She demanded, her tone hurt.

"Because I must do what I can to protect my world. And Kiryu, will help me do that."

Her eyes widened in shock, "Kiryu!? What!?"

But before she could protest any further, Beast pressed one of the on-screen buttons on his tablet, and activated the seat ejection, blowing the hatch and blasting Azusa out of the cockpit with a scream. He kept a wary eye on her to make sure the parachute deployed, and it did after a few moments.

McCoy took a moment to sigh to himself, removing the headset that he was sure would be filled with curses had he not severed the link.

"I really, really wish we could have worked together, but I simply won't risk you being hurt in my world, or risk any further delays."

Taking control of the Heron, Beast steered it over to hover directly in front of Kiryu. He entered another command into his device, and the Mecha's arms dropped slightly, the command signal from Captain Akiba cut off. Guiding the Heron even closer to Kiryu's neck, Beast leapt out, and used his device again to open the entry hatch on the side of the neck. Before stepping in, another set of commands raised a small platform from the foot-well of the seat he had occupied in the Heron, a small plate atop an extending stem rising from a suitcase he had laid down. Resting on the platform, was the portal sphere.

At the sound of the other Herons closing in, another set of executions on the tablet turned them away against their pilot's will, pre-programmed flight plans back to their base. Once he had cracked the first heron, the other three had been simple enough, they being designed to work in union.

But he couldn't control the entire JSDF, so he had to complete his plan fast. Entering the passageway, he hurried on all fours to the internal cockpit, where Kiryu could be piloted manually.

Having spent several hours begging and pleading with Admiral Taizo and other officials to use Kiryu to help subdue Godzilla to no avail, Beast had given up on trying to win their permission. So, while he sat around the JSDF headquarters, learning what he could about the world, he began to formulate different ways he could kidnap the machine. All he needed, was the right opportunity. Whether it was the work of fate or something else, the Burtanni had given him that opportunity. Now here he stood, in the cockpit of a hundred meter-machine designed to take-on the most incredible monster this world had ever seen.

Wasting no time, he seized the controls.

Outside, the Portal Sphere activated, green light flowing through the crevices until it reached the focal point. The scan light shot out and enveloped Kiryu, calculating the necessary measurements for the gateway. After a few moments, the light retracted, and the sphere bloomed with the shimmering curtain of psychedelic colors.

Taking a deep breath, Beast pushed the steering handles forward and directed Kiryu to step through the portal. The mechanical guardian disappeared into the swirling void, turning at the last moment to cradle the Heron in its palm, and take it along.

The window collapsed in on itself with a sucking sound, leaving only the empty bay, many flabbergasted onlookers, and one appalled Admiral.

Taizo stared at the monitor in his mobile command station, where he had just watched someone who had become something of a friend over the past few days, betray him, and leave his country vulnerable. His fist tightened.

* * *

 **ATLANTIC OCEAN**

He could feel them coming.

Floating in place deep under the surface, Godzilla waited, waited to see what the approaching ship would do. The sounds of their sonar, engines, even the chatter of the crewmen were all amplified in the liquid medium. Not that Godzilla needed to rely on his base senses to know where or how many there were. He could feel the motion through the water despite their attempt at stealth. The radio signals and sonar waves might as well have been a rock concert for as loud and clear as Godzilla felt them.

Reaching out through the elemental forces of the planet, he could locate virtually anything with a large enough energy signature. Many new and strange beings in this world had noticeable power, and right now he knew that a few of his enemies had also come to this world; the one who was like him, the one with the sharp claws, and the old one. The last one, the one who came from beyond the sky was across a large landmass, and Godzilla knew it would take a long time until he could reach him. Not soon enough to prevent the golden thing with many heads from doing a lot of damage.

Down in the deep, where light failed to penetrate, he shifted his head in the direction of what he could tell was a craft roughly the size of an aircraft carrier. It crept along the surface, probing for his location, but his ability to render himself invisible to these things allowed him to travel and stay where he wanted without being bothered. Largely.

Another familiar machine was coming closer, and Godzilla recognized the sleek design and omnidirectional sonar of a submarine. Most importantly, he could practically taste the power emanating from its nuclear reactor. Normally he might let them pass on by without any trouble, but he was in more of a confrontational mood, and he might need the extra energy to deal with the others.

Twisting in the direction of the submarine, he put himself on a collision course for one of the most heavily armed naval craft in the United States military, the Ohio-class _USS Carlyle._

On the surface, the _USS Emerald_ pushed along, its tandem mission with the _Carlyle_ to seek and destroy Godzilla, part of Operation: "Unlucky Dragon" . But having taken a lesson from the destruction of the SHIELD Helicarrier, they came prepared with more than just a few conventional weapons.

Part of a much larger effort, several other teams like theirs were cruising in different sectors of the Atlantic to find the monster, and even as they came closer and closer, their instruments gave them no indication that they had found him.

"I'd like to thank your for all your help Mr. Hammer."

In the wheelhouse of the _Emerald_ , the barrel-chested Captain Rivers stood next to the impeccably-dressed Justin Hammer, billionaire inventor and industrialist, and rival of Tony Stark. While the crew all wore their appropriate uniforms, Hammer sported a dark blue silk suit, white shirt, and pastel pink tie. He was totally oblivious to the fact that he looked more fit for a boardroom meeting than a warship.

"My pleasure captain. Matter of fact I consider it my patriotic duty."

A few of the crewmembers within earshot rolled their eyes, despite his front, Hammer had been a total diva ever since he came aboard. But even if his true motivation was the obscenely funded government contract, they were glad to have him for what he had brought with him.

Lining the deck of the ship, stood two columns of the iconic Sentinel androids, a dozen of them.

Justin smiled to himself, thinking of how great an idea it had been to buy-out Trask Industries, and thereby gain the rights and technology to churn out his own brand of the mechanical enforcers. And if he could make some good money by selling these obedient automatons to various governments, and other high bidders, then all for the better.

"Captain!" a crewmen called out from his station. "We've got something on the radar! It just popped-up!"

Underneath them, the crew of the submarine were scrambling in reaction to the same information. The Captain of the _Carlyle_ had never seen anything like this, something so big heading directly for his ship. A something like this Godzilla monster was reported to be. Large enough to hold the sub in his arms, and strong enough to rip it apart like a paper bag. This wasn't an enemy sub in a war game, this was hunting a wild predator.

Being a 2nd-generation son of Bangladeshi parents, Biman Maji remembered hearing the stories of his father and grandfather about tigers in the jungle. How they'd troop barefoot through the bush with powerful rifles, knowing full well that the animal could pounce from the shadows at anytime and rip their throats out. Just because you have a big gun, doesn't mean you're safe from the danger.

Not unlike how his father must have felt when he stepped into the forest, the tiger stalking him just out of sight, Captain Maji could sense the attention of this mighty predator was on him. And it was only a matter of time before one fell prey to the other. Maji was determined to make sure it wasn't him and his crew.

"Ping it!" He commanded.

A singular sonar wave went out, and stuck Godzilla, bouncing back. A crewman listening carefully through a large set of headphones, shot his commander a look.

"I think it um…. I think it growled sir."

Captain Maji thought very hard about what he was about to do. "Lock on target, all ahead full, load all tubes, and fire-up the Tridents."

"Aye Captain!" came several voices. The _Carlyle_ transformed from a silent hunter into a bristling weapons platform. The torpedo tubes filled with water, crew members loading the first round into their chambers. Multiple doors along the top unfolded open to reveal the heads of Trident II, and Tomahawk missiles. Enough firepower to conquer most nation states.

"Tubes 1, 2, 3, & 4 ready to fire, sir."

Maji took a breath. "Fire all torpedoes and reload!"

The seaborne missiles raced out of their channels, homing in on their target.

Aboard the _Emerald,_ their weapon stations were likewise full of activity.

Justin Hammer used his hand-held pilot device to instruct the Sentinels on their objective. Linked into the ship's targeting system, he was able to program that data into his mercenary machines, and give them a picture of what they were to destroy. That fact that they were 1/5th Godzilla's height Justin had decided, would be negated by a numerical advantage.

"Let's see how the big fella handles a squad of the finest HammerTech Sentinels."

On deck, the eyes of the robots flickered to illumination, the sound of their internal generators rising to a steady hum. The dozen of them rose into the air in unison.

Justin pressed one final button, and they banked downwards, slipping into the ocean.

A series of explosions obscured a portion of the _Carlyle's_ sonar operator's screen, and he winced to the thunderous impacts.

"Direct hit on all four, sir."

No one spoke as they waited for the smoke to clear, Captain Maji stared straight ahead.

The sonar operator listened carefully, and suddenly his eyes widened in fright.

Throughout the cabin, the echo of Godzilla's roar filled the space, causing more than a few to cower. A new sound, but no less distressing, was the collision alarm.

"Target is still on a collision course sir!"

"Ensign, status!" Maji yelled.

"Tubes 1 & 2 loaded and ready sir."

"Fire 1 and 2! Continuous fire!"

Godzilla heard the oncoming missiles streaking towards him, and paid them as little mind as he did the first four. What interested him more, was the group of things flocking to him from directly above, they were different.

The squadron of Sentinels acquired target lock with their own weapon systems, and in concert, took aim with the energy canons that extended from their hands.

The torpedoes slammed into Godzilla's shoulders, giving him momentary pause in the liquid suspension, and it was during that second that a barrage of energy ballista pelted him from above. They barely hurt but they were irritating, enough so that Godzilla changed direction for the Sentinels.

As Godzilla bore through the hostile rain, he prepared to wade among the enemy, and thrash them before continuing onto the food source.

When the two sides collided however, the Sentinels instead of swarming Godzilla, went around him. Confused, Godzilla looked down to see them waiting in place a bit below him. This was when more torpedoes struck him in the chest.

With the monster recoiling, the Sentinels moved in. The dozen of them latched onto different parts of Godzilla's body, tail, legs, and arms. Acting in concert, the droids began to thrust him upwards to the surface, and no matter how Godzilla flailed, he couldn't shake them. Godzilla managed to grab the head of one clinging onto this other arm, and crush it like tin foil, but by then the momentum was too great to stop.

The tangle of metal and monster broke through the surface, the loss of the water to support the weight slowing down the Sentinels slightly.

"Fire the Tridents!" Captain Maji ordered.

Launching from the top of the _Carlyle_ , the several Trident II missiles cut through the water.

On the surface, a similar array of ballistic projectiles were fired from the _Emerald_ , joining the others as they converged on the bellowing Kaiju.

Reaching a sufficient height, the Sentinels disengaged, leaving Godzilla suspended in mid-air for a second before plummeting back down. The fusillade of munitions struck him in a cloud of fire and smoke, a cacophony of explosions that followed him all the way down.

Godzilla crashed into the water, and through the massive walls of the splash, came the last of the missiles. The bombastic assault continued under the surface, the muffled detonations getting deeper and deeper.

"See?" Justin Hammer said, stretching an arm to the window where they had just watched the incredible events.

"He's just an animal. Not that hard to out maneuver."

'I'm sure this will go a long way towards your public image, and something to hold over Stark's head." the Captain commended him with a handshake.

The idea of succeeding where the invincible Tony Stark had failed was a sweet one for Hammer, especially something so public like this.

"Well," He said smugly, "I suppose it will make for a nice cover of Time magazine."

"Target is active!" called out a woman at a sonar monitor.

"Captain!" Another yelled, "A distress signal from the _Carlyle_! They're under attack!"

"Get me a target lock and fire!" Captain Rivers screamed.

Frantic, the crewman gawked at his screen. "I can't sir! Godzilla's signal is going in and out, the computer can't lock on!"

"Can't you just fire anyway?" Hammer asked, shifting nervously.

"We'd just as likely sink the _Carlyle_ ourselves if we fire blind." Rivers muttered, frustrated.

"The _Carlyle_ is surfacing sir! Way too fast! Off the Port bow!" One crewman said,

"Godzilla's signal! It's right under the _Carlyle!_ " Came another.

The occupants of the bridge house remained silent as a surge of water erupted from the sea, a mountain created in an instant by the appearance of a dark shape bursting through the surface. The _USS Carlyle_ shot into the air from below, heaved skyward by something much larger.

The submarine pitched and canted slightly as it went higher, higher and into the midst of the hovering Sentinels. Godzilla, spines flashing with blue light the second he loosed the craft, loosed his atomic fury directly for the hapless vessel.

Those aboard the _Emerald_ had only a heartbeat to duck down and take whatever cover they could reach in the time it took for the beam to strike the underside of the submarine, and destroy it in a biblical exhibition of fire and light above them. The tremendous explosion of steel and nuclear power bowled the ship over onto its side at such a speed that crewmembers and items not bolted down were weightless for a split second before being slammed against the internal walls of the bulkhead.

The small swarm of Sentinels were obliterated by a combination of the outward force of the explosion and shredded by the shrapnel projected outwards at such a velocity that metal shredded through their bodies like bullets from a machine gun.

A fireball engulfed the immediate area, the very ocean battling against the flames. The shockwave left the roar of the blast behind, flattening the waves in all directions and creating a surreal seascape of a flat, burning water.

Amidst the momentary hell on earth, Godzilla bore the brunt of the violence, a cry of his own rage rebelling into the storm.

All were consumed by the light and smoke, disappearing in a flash of power locked away by nature, but unleashed by Man.

Sometime later with debris bobbing in the water as they littered the ocean surface, the first signs of survivors emerged from the wreckage. The portside hull of the _Emerald_ had been peeled away and the ship slowly sunk among a froth of air bubbles.

A few scattered people clung to the flotsam, some conscious, others not. Despite the sun of the cloudless day, the smoke and fire transformed the environment into a chaotic nightmare of destruction.

Clutching to no less than three lifejackets, Justin Hammer sputtered and choked on seawater as he tried to keep himself above the surface. He flailed clumsily, using a combination of dogpaddling and breast stroke to make his way towards a large segment of orange life raft floating upside-down. Clawing his way onto it, the torn rubber did little to keep him out of the water, but it did serve to provide some mental comfort. He allowed himself to relax in what was basically a hammock, and he exhaled in relief. Hammer's suit was scorched and tattered, his hair plastered to his head with a trickle of blood creeping down from underneath.

"Oh my god! I'm alive!"

Glancing around, his spirits were crushed at seeing the carnage surrounding him. It was now hitting him that he was stuck out here with no means to call for help. All of his gadgets were either damaged or soaked, and the groans he heard through the smoke told him that it was unlikely that anyone else was in as good a shape as he was.

"Hey! Hey! Is anyone out there!? Can anyone hear me?!"

Justin tried to use the patch of raft like a canoe, splashing his hands to oar himself around to look for any sign of helpful survivors.

"If anybody can hear me I'm really rich! If you save me you'll be set for life!"

He called but no response came. Panic setting in, he wheeled about frantically, suffering the acrid smoke and polluted water hitting him in the face. When a body floated close to him face down, he grabbed a handful of the

blue digital uniform, giving it a hard shake to elicit some kind of response. With nothing but ripples in the water for his efforts, he took his trembling hand away.

"Hello? Anyone?"

With Justin's attention focused on trying to find help through the haze, behind him a series of shapes cut silently through the water. The misshapen plates brushing aside everything in their path as they headed straight for Hammer's small refuge.

At the last moment, Justin turned to see Godzilla's dorsal spines about to smash through his position. He screamed as the raft fragment was swept up onto the bony protrusions, the cords and cables of both the raft and life jackets wrapped around his left arm and neck, binding him to the wall.

A long and sonorous wail sundered through the water, and Justin Hammer's Promethean rock became a roller coaster, surging upwards before taking a sharp plunge below the surface.

A trail of bubbles contained his final scream as the dancing sunlight on the waves fell away from him, and he was embraced by the cold bosom of the deep.


	15. Chapter 15: Thor vs King Ghidorah

**WAKANDA**

The world around him was burning. Everything smelled and tasted of death.

Opening his eyes painfully, at first all Thor could make out was a landscape of fire and desolation. Bracing his hand into a layer of ash, he pushed himself off the ground, tiny flecks of delicate black dust swirling in the disturbed air. The wind picked up his hair and blew it about his face, howling and hot, it carried embers past him and off into the distance. He looked out to see a formerly lush and vibrant jungle now reduced to a barren alien wasteland.

"By the gods….."

Swaths of trees were either still on fire or glowing with the light of the cinders. Around him the land was scorched, like the slope of a volcano it more closely resembled the terrain of Mars than an Earth habitat. The smoke reached into the sky and blotted out the sun, sinister dark clouds stretching out for miles. There was no moisture in the air, and Thor spit the tainted saliva from his mouth to rid himself of the vile taste.

Raising himself to a knee, he took stock of the forsaken vista.

"Not until the days of Ragnarök did I ever expect to gaze upon such ruin. It is not unlike the plains of Svartelfheim, whereupon the breath of life cannot survive. Verily this golden drake would match even the likes of the terrible Surtur."

Getting to his feet, Thor cranked his neck from side to side and inhaled a long therapeutic breath.

"Whatever this behemoth be…" Reaching out his hand, the mighty hammer Mjolnir flung itself into his grip accompanied by the sound of distant thunder.

"It shall give forth a battle worthy of the son of Odin."

The streets of the Wakandan capitol were filled with screams and fire. Thousands fled from one corner of the city to another, frantically seeking for any avenue of escape, but wherever they went they discovered themselves trapped. Mothers held their children to their breast as they sobbed, the men shuddered and shrunk away from the mysterious pulsating barrier that encircled their civilization. Wicked black tentacles lashed out at any who dared come too close, and not even the Vibranium of their weapons were able to pierce the living cage.

No matter where they ran however, no matter where they tried to hide, they could not escape the ever-present glare of the eyes in the sky. Looming over them, six glowing red eyes watched unblinking over the chaos. None of the humans understood what the creature wanted from them, it merely stood over them, erecting its alien dome for some reason yet undiscovered.

Hovering in the limited airspace, the Queen of Wakanda, Ororo tried to summon the wrath of the thunderstorm to no avail. Her connection to the world outside was cut off, and any aid she sought from lightning and tempest was denied.

In the royal quarters, King T'Challa oversaw the continued effort of the city's remaining cannons to break through the barrier. The others had been obliterated by the several strafes of the invader's bolts, ripping chunks out of Wakanda. Flashes of lavender light illuminated the city before shattering against the impenetrable dermis.

So while they struggled, cowered, and cursed, they all shared one common emotion, a single virus that had spread among them faster than any biological contagion could hope to match. A germ that tore down defenses and stripped even the bravest of resolve, terror.

The celestial serial killer, the destroyer of worlds and enemy of all life King Ghidorah watched their activity with emotionless clarity. In his immortal approximation of life, incalculable numbers of living beings had been exterminated by his will, wiped from existence as if they and their planet had never been. This was his nature, annihilation the meaning of every cell in his body.

And now his will was bent on this world, another insignificant speak of rock in a universe almost as old as him. It would bore him if not for the ceaseless drive to kill one thing after another. The dome as a means was a vestigial feature of his race, something that once served a purpose, but one he long ago surpassed. Still, whatever infinitesimal trace of joy he could feel could be derived from their mortal terror, like smelling a flower.

Ghidorah could sense that this was a different world that his own, with powers and entities out in the realms of space unfamiliar to him. It was a feeling he did not like, but one that he would rectify in time. There was also the curious presence of a small number of known entities on this planet. Something has been interfering with their worlds, meddling in the course of events. It was the reason he was snatched while in his incubation and thrust into this universe against his will.

But such matters concerned him little, for now, the malice in his spirit yearned to unleash destruction and cataclysm. His eyes began to glow with crimson lust, preparing to inflict some cruelty on the population. At his back, a crack of thunder split the sky, breaking apart the toxic fumes of the burning forest, bolts of lightning raining down to strike the ground.

This was not a natural storm, and Ghidorah turned his left head around to inspect the phenomena. The last time he had been confronted by a being who controlled such powers, it had resulted in his defeat at the hands of the multi-colored guardian.

Peering through the maelstrom, the planet killer saw the architect of the contrived thunder, the same little being it had encountered upon his release.

With arcs of lightning surrounding him, Thor hovered in the air, his cape whipping against the wind. He wore a grim countenance, for he knew that the fate of Midgard was at stake.

"Thou vile fiend hast chosen the wrong world to bear thy evil upon, for Midgard is under my protection, and thou art not welcome here."

Windmilling his hammer, Thor shot towards the space monster.

Rare, was the case wherein a native being actually attempted to combat King Ghidorah, some quality about this planet, an alternate version of the other, continually produced those who could defy him. The one spot in the vast cosmos that had stubbornly rebelled against oblivion. With the vision of this tiny creature sailing in his direction, a rose of hatred bloomed under the golden scales, and the single head unleashed a bolt of gravitic force.

The bolt was met by Mjolnir, and was battered aside with a swing.

Ghidorah had been surprised a few times in his existence, but never, not once, had the gravity bolts ever been deflected. The dragon's shock was sufficient that it allowed Thor to get within striking distance.

With a boom that rivaled the eruption of a volcano, Mjolnir struck Ghidorah's snout, sending sparks and electricity in every direction. The head was thrown back from the blow, like a ball on a limp tether.

"Have at thee beast!"

Turning, Ghidorah fixed its other two heads on Thor, red eyes narrowing on the Asgardian. Raising Mjolnir above his head, Thor hurled the hammer down to the broad breast of the monster, where it clanged off a golden scale before being pulled back to its master.

Ghidorah glanced down to where it had been hit, all three heads now focusing on the suicidally brave prince of thunder.

"I see thy armor stands well 'gainst the might of Mjolnir." Thor muttered as he caught his weapon. "Then I shall put thy fortitude to the test."

Thor held the hammer aloft, the storm in the sky gathering and roiling, the occurrence of lighting intensifying. Like a war drum beating, the thunder rang out louder and louder, a show of power.

Unimpressed, King Ghidorah flexed his wings backwards, and began flapping. Suddenly the landscape changed from a lifeless wasteland, into the epicenter of a hurricane. With every casual motion the earth was scraped bare, a wave of debris washing over everything in its path.

But Thor remained unmoved, having shouldered through much more tumultuous squalls than this on a dozen worlds. He leveled Mjolnir at his foe, and a throng of lightning bolts joined together to form a single torrent of white fury, streaking and stabbing through the wind to assail the golden alien.

The attack struck harmlessly against Ghidorah, diffusing in a flare of sparks. Retaliation was swift, and a trio of wild gravity bolts were unleashed that ripped the ground apart and entwined the Avenger.

Thor managed to dodge the matrix for a few seconds, but one did hit home. Mjolnir was enveloped, and its weight increased by orders of magnitude within a heartbeat. The struggle to maintain his grip opened Thor's defense, and another bolt plowed into his chest.

The reaction was an explosion, the Asgardian's molecules fighting off the bolts attempt to send them flying apart. The conflicting forces canceled each other out, and the energy was manifested in a violent expulsion. Pain, pain surpassing anything Thor had ever felt before coursed through his body as every fiber of his tissue resisted being separated. He fell from the sky, pitched and tossed in the maelstrom until he slammed into the ground. The agony was over as fast at it had come, but still the psychological whiplash prevented Thor from doing more than thrashing in place.

Ghidorah stepped forward, intent on finishing off his enemy by crushing him underfoot.

Thor broke out of the craze just in time to see the shadow move over him, and he swung Mjolnir out to the side to carry him out of harm's way. Skidding through exposed rocks and rubble, Thor glared up to the heads as they appeared to sway amidst the clouds. Ghidorah towered over the landscape, so tall he might as well have been the only thing standing for miles. The red eyes peered down at him, beacons atop a living mountain.

"This beast is unlike any I have fought before." He said with a mix of shock and uncertainty. "But I know that my fate is set in the days of Ragnarok. However powerful this thing may be, it will not be the purveyor of my demise."

Ghidorah uttered a menacing cackle, the dichotomy between the combatants clear to both of them. Thor stood, mustering his strength, a prince of thunder against the king of terror.

Inside the imprisoned city of Wakanda, Strom stared hard at the translucent window at the apex of the dome, where she could see through to the sky.

 _Something must be diverting the creature's attention._ She thought to herself. _I can feel my connection to nature strengthening._

"T'Challa!" She said into her earpiece connecting her to her husband, "Order the cannons to focus their fire on the top of the dome! It's been weakened!"

In the control center, with dozens of men and women hurrying around to maintain control of the disorder, Black Panther gave the command to alter the trajectory of the cannon fire.

In the several parts of the city, energy weapons twenty meters long shifted in their positions, the Vibranium engines charging up for another volley. They fired in concert, all their lavender projections meeting at the top of the dome where the extraterrestrial construct convulsed upon impact. Ripples from the point of contact betrayed the structural weakness, and Storm grinned.

"It's working my king!"

She reached out to the sky above, sensing the flow of ozone and wind responding to her will.

"Forces of nature and creation! Answer my call!"

From above the cerulean bubble, the clouds swirled and flashed, cold air mixing with warm to create a vortex.

"That's it!" Storm called out.

First pellets, then larger bits of hail began to shoot out from the vortex, channeled and directed by the growing funnel. Dozens of chunks of ice battering the dome from the outside every second, each passing moment bringing heavier and heavier missiles.

The events did not go unnoticed, Ghidorah's center head turned to see the weather weapon, sensing that his trap was being weakened in the absence of his continued effort to reinforce it. His eyes flashed with a surge of willpower.

A small breach had been created at the very apex of the dome, and Storm did not waste the opportunity.

"I shall contact the others for help and return!"

"Waste no time my love!" T'Challa called out with no attempt to mask his anxiety. "Thor cannot fight that thing forever!"

Slipping through the opening, Storm had just made it out when the gap resealed behind her. She gasped, realizing how narrow her chance for escape had been. When she turned her attention to the land surrounding Wakanda however, she could nothing but stare breathlessly.

Storm gazed out at the complete and utter desolation of her adopted homeland. While the city had remained largely protected in the bubble, the surrounding jungle had been reduced to total wretched devastation. Not a hint of green existed until the horizon, columns of smoke rising from the ground birthed from burning pits.

Not even during the persecution of mutants did she witness such a horrible sight. The turmoil of the internment camps was nothing in comparison. Rage swelled in her heart, and she wished she had a legion of Sentinel automatons to fight for Wakanda.

A crack of thunder preceded an object streaking through the air like a meteor, and collide with the snout of Ghidorah's left head. Storm squinted to see, but Thor was no bigger than a gnat in comparison to the monster. The head lashed out with a bite, but the Avenger was too nimble for the enormous mouth.

"The thundered is in need of aid." She growled, "And I shall give it!" Raising her hands to the sky, the storm above spread out, errant winds and tornado funnels churning into existence. Her eyes illuminated pure white and her face contorted in a grimace of hatred, a single-minded dedication to seeing this leviathan slain.

King Ghidorah felt the powers emanating from this new entrant, but like the first, it had faced opponents of similar abilities before. While they generated no trace of a threat, their resistance was becoming bothersome. With Thor moving and striking around him like a wasp, Ghidorah decided it was time to stop playing with his food.

Levitating itself off the ground, the planet killer ascended into the clouds, loosing its bolts to savage everything in sight. A cyclone tried to envelope him, but the counter-current from his wings broke the funnel in half. Arcs of lightning struck Ghidorah like a swarm of angry bees, but he minded them not, continuing upwards into the heart of the turbulent atmosphere.

Again and again Thor stuck against the golden scales. Attacking the most obvious vulnerable points, the open mouths, proved too dangerous as they spat out the torturous bolts whenever he got close.

Storm continued to throw the fury of nature at Ghidorah, using side-swiping cyclones to keep it off balance.

In return, the claws on Ghidorah's wings cast out crimson streaks of burning energy.

The war raged into the sky, Thor and Storm battling heroically against the interstellar demon, Ghidorah snapping and trying to obliterate them with his rays. But a new thought then entered the monster's mind, something to bypass fighting them himself. Searching around, Ghidorah's center head found Storm, and focused his mind on her. His eyes flashed with a red pulse.

She was unprepared for the type of assault that hit her, and Storm fell from the sky, screaming bloody murder.

"STORM!" Thor yelled, abandoning his attack to dive-bomb for the unconscious woman. Catching her in his arms, he looked down to see her eyes rolled back in her head as it hung limply off his bicep.

"The dragon wields some baleful unseen power, he has-"

Suddenly Storm's head curled upwards, her face pulled back in a snarl, the whites of her eyes replaced by vermillion. Before Thor could protect himself, lightning connected to her hands shocking him through the back and out the chest.

"NNAAAAAHHHH!" He screamed as she palmed his face, trying to dig her nails into his bulletproof flesh. Thor managed to reach through the pain and pry her hand off his face, only for her to lunge forward and bite his throat. Furiously she gnawed and chewed, but her teeth could not penetrate.

He pushed her away, and the two squared off.

"Heed me friend Ororo!" Thor said to her, on his guard but keeping his forward hand open. "You must fight-off this murderous spell! You must not let it control your mind!"

"There can be only death, thunderer!" She called back, spittle flying as she spoke in a growling voice. "The end of this world has arrived, and he does not abide the interference of insignificant mortals as you and I!"

"I do not wish to fight you Storm, but the fate of Midgard hangs in the balance!"

Surging forward hammer-first, Thor tackled Storm out of the air, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled against his strength, but could do nothing to resist his grip. With a feral scream, she summoned a gale of wind from underneath them that sent both tumbling upwards.

Satisfied that the slight opposition was occupied, King Ghidorah once again turned its attention to Wakanda. Plunging downwards, the planet killer filled the skies with its cackle.

On the ground, the citizenry was despondent. The repeating cannonade of the city guns had resulted in no more success after the escape of Queen Ororo, the barrier absorbing every shot. Hundreds cried out to their gods for salvation, the sounds of their lamentations a cacophony of the damned. One man, striding out onto the roof of his home, bore a dagger and cut its edge into his flesh to draw blood. He ambled as if in a daze, cheeks covered in the trails of his tears. Looking to the heavens for some sign of their presence, the man pleading with forces beyond his perception in hopes to satiate them.

"Is this what you require, gods of mine? Will you not take my life in exchange for my wife and child?"

The entire landscape shuddered with a tremendous quake, and the obscured motion of something enormous beyond the dome's skin alerted them all to the return of the alien creature. Indeed, the glow of its crimson eyes sent many into a new fit of terrified hysteria.

Thinking that no deliverance from their gods or champions was coming, more than a few persons decided that a quick death would be preferable to whatever unimaginable horror awaited them at the whim of this nightmare. Those who lined the streets found themselves assailed by those who chose to plunge headlong to a fate of their own making from the rooftops of the city.

Watching all of this in impotent shock, T'Challa stared open mouthed at the evisceration of his kingdom. Wakanda was tearing itself apart under the thrall of this alien, the guard unable to maintain order. Groups of armed men tried to rush the wall, braving the danger of the black lashes, but were turned back after each charge.

His royal bodyguard, the Dora Milaje, made their stand in the chamber, ready to face any threat to their king that dared come their way. With the rest of the city given to chaos, the private sanctum had become the last redoubt.

Black Panther broke away from the sight of disaster. "I must go out there, I must be among my people to offer them hope."

"I would not recommend that my king." Said the senior of the troop. "They are in such a state, that I not know what reaction they might have to see you."

T'Challa waved off her warning. "I will not shelter myself away while my kingdom descends into madness. If this is how Wakanda is to perish, then I will perish with it!"

He pushed his way through the women, and when one tried to restrain him, he wrestled out of her grip and put her body between himself and the others. Giving one last thought towards putting on the Panther mask, he decided against it, choosing to be among his people with his own face.

High above the new African wasteland, Thor and Storm were still embraced as they twisted through the clouds. The longer she was enthralled to Ghidorah's murderous will, the more her mind deteriorated into animalistic fury. Thor could only look at her with pity.

"The demon's hold is too strong for mortal minds, she is lost unless I can put an end to the creature itself!"

Transitioning her around to face away from him, Thor carefully wrapped his arm around her neck. Though she struggled and clawed, she swiftly began to lose consciousness. Within a few seconds, her body relaxed and rested limply against his chest.

"Rest peacefully friend Ororo, and perhaps when you awaken, your land will be purged of this fell beast."

Holding her like a slumbering child, he carried her down to the nearest hilltop, that was by now merely a barren mound raised higher above the rest of the landscape.

"I'm sorry I cannot ferry you to better care in this moment. For now, let this once beautiful land provide you a cradle."

Raising Mjolnir, Thor smashed it into the ground, carving out a narrow crater in a single blow. He lay her in the hollow, wrapping her cloak around her both for warmth and the dignity befitting her person.

A wave of haunting grey dust blew through on the wind, causing Thor's mane to rustle about his face and neck as he stood. He looked to the west, where the mountainous figure of the golden dragon loomed large over the beleaguered city.

"For battle is my great love, and ever does she shine her affection upon me."

Peering through the bio-dome, Ghidorah watched the tiny beings, the stench of their terror filling his nostrils. He watched them crowd around one in particular, swarming over so fast and deep it was hard to tell if they were seeking aid or trying to tear them apart.

So unconcerned with his surroundings was Ghidorah, that he never noticed the figure hovering over him.

"MIGHTY THUNDER!"

At once, a trio of lightning bolts struck the back of Ghidorah's heads, eliciting a sharp cry from the monster. A clap of thunder roaring in the heavens, Thor spun his hammer to wield the forces of nature.

"Feel Mjolnir's sting, beast!"

King Ghidorah turned in a rage, his jaws snapping in wild frenzy, casting a series of golden streaks in every direction.

"I command thee to heel!"

Tossing Mjolnir away from him with a casual flick of the wrist, the Uru-forged weapon dropped down to land on Ghidorah's center snout, right between the eyes. The result wasn't instant, but a sudden weight compelled Monster Zero to lower his head jerkily. The peripheral heads squawked in surprise when the middle was finally driven to the ground, dragging Ghidorah's whole body with it.

The space monster was apoplectic, writing on the ground trying to free itself from the burden of the object smaller than the slit of its eye.

"It appears thou art not worthy." Thor remarked.

Taking advantage of his opponents disposition, he zoomed over to the vile encasement that held Wakanda captive. Coming at it full bore, Thor slammed his shoulder into the side of the thing, trying to break through it. Impacting with a soft _THUD_ , his efforts resulted in little more than a temporary indent that filled back out within moments.

"This wretched construct has a nature all its own, but it has contended not with the will of Thor!"

Driving his fists into the same spot, Odinson pounded the material with blows that could knock cars flying. Over and over the assault continued, and at last a fissure began to spread. With a single focused punch, he opened the crack enough to dig his hands on either side. Before it could close, he thrust his fingers inside and strained his muscles to pry the two sides apart.

"Look!" The citizens cried, spotting the spot in the dome opening up. Hundreds around the city pointed to sky, praying that someone had finally come to their rescue.

King T'Challa, surrounded by the throngs of his subjects peered intently at the growing split. He knew right away that it could not be his wife that was up there. His chest became tight, vision blurred at the edges thinking that his beloved had fallen in battle to this alien fiend.

" _Gods of Wakanda, please return my wife to me…"_

Like a floundering fish, King Ghidorah thrashed on the ground, infuriated and confounded under the restraint of Mjolnir. The center head growled and frothed between its clenched teeth, unable to open its mouth. No matter what the monster tried, it could lift every other part of its body except this one. It had never encountered a situation like this before, but that did not mean there was no recourse.

Acting in concert, the two other heads unleashed their golden bolts on the Asgardian weapon in an effort to use gravity against enchantment. Slowly and concertedly the molecules surrounding Mjolnir pushed away from each other, the ones around the hammer becoming lighter and lighter. While the All-Father's enchantment remained, the directed forces of nature served to undermine the spell and lift the weight.

Its head freed, Ghidorah slipped out from underneath and let the hammer fall to the ground. Crying out, he turned his wrathful six eyes towards the insignificant speck that had dared contest him.

"Only a bit more…" Thor said to himself in a strain, feeling the strange creation of the dome's skin giving way to his strength. "If the glaciers of Jotunheim can be moved by my hand, then…"

The shrieks of the monster drew his attention, and he turned to see the golden beast rising into the sky.

"By some spell or feat, it has overcome Mjolnir's magic, 'Tis more than just a savage brute that could achieve thus."

"Mjolnir, TO ME!" Reaching out his hand, Thor waited for his companion to rejoin him.

In the sky, bolts of gravitic lightning rained down on the countryside, ripping and tearing, churning the land into a vista of warfare between two grand forces. Spying the bold champion down below, Ghidorah's malice found a focal point, and the wrath of one god was aimed at another.

The left head sent a bolt racing down to the prince of Asgard, warping the atmosphere around as it jabbed through the air. Just as it was about to hit, Mjolnir came into the hand of Thor, and smashed aside the golden lance.

Another bolt from the right head was fired, and it too was deflected with a roar of combat.

"You will not find the Son of Odin to suffer your slings so easily!" Leaping outward, Thor flung himself directly into a collision course with the cosmic killer, hammer first.

The center head unleashed its own bolt, which struck Mjolnir directly. A huge flare of light and wave of energy erupted from the epicenter of the clash with the intensity of a sonic boom. The glare reflected in Ghidorah's eye as it peered through the flash.

Surging forward despite the explosion, Thor soared straight for the center head. Ghidorah failed to consider the idea of recoiling, not thinking that anything this tiny speak could do would hurt it.

When Mjolnir struck Ghidorah's snout, coinciding with a column of lightning, it echoed out as if a massive gong had been rung. The middle-head reeled from the blow, the other ones looking on with hatred and snarling.

Thor acted without wasting a second, grabbing onto a wrinkle of scales between the eyes, he heaved with all his might to pull the beast backwards. Ghidorah's skyscraping body tottered at an angle, being taken off-center by the Asgardian monster wrangler. Changing his flight path, Thor took the head steeply downward and to the side, wrapping the one neck around the stalk of another. Shrieking in confusion, Ghidorah at last lost balance when the side heads tried to snap their jaws at Thor, the motion pitching them too far over.

The monster squirmed like a pit of eels trying to untangle itself, while Thor broke away.

"Ha! If only the Warriors Three could witness such a battle! The halls of my father would never cease to tell the story!"

Regaining its bearings, Ghidorah's heads fanned out to locate his foe, but growled at not being able to find him.

"Here I am!"

Standing atop the central head, Thor held Mjolnir with both hands above him, and brought it down with the thunderous crack. The head fell away underneath him, having gone limp temporarily. But it wasn't a heartbeat before a pair of jaws closed around him.

Inside the mouth of Ghidorah's left head was dark and hot, and Thor had to cover his nose to shield himself from the rancid stench of fetid saliva that dripped from the cavernous roof. The tongue shifted under his feet, curling back to bring him to the precipice of the esophagus and down into depths no living eyes have ever seen. He saw the sphincter stretch open to receive him, an empty void beyond the gateway.

"Though I may be a feast unlike any other, the only thing you shall taste is my lightning!"

Reaching up to grab a handful of the tongue's harsh flesh, Thor extended Mjolnir before him.

The sky above them both spat forth an arc of nature's fury that snaked downward and through the fangs of Ghidorah to connect with the Uru metal, but it failed to pass through the tongue first.

The head spasmed violently from the shock, its eyes wide with unfamiliar pain. After a few moments the head lolled lazily, drifting off to one side. Finally, the jaws were pried open as Thor pressed the upper and lower apart to stand between them like a pillar.

A golden bolt struck him in the side, the right head taking the chance when the more nimble opponent was vulnerable. Screaming in pain from the gravity bolts' effort to rip him apart, Thor was blasted out of the mouth and sent hurtling into the air. Another projection hit him in the back, one that pinched the atoms closer together, and he felt like the weight of a planet was crushing down on him.

His body contracted, becoming denser and his velocity increased in relation, until he impacted the earth with the force of an artillery shell. Mjolnir rested beside him as he lay face-down in the dead soil, his cape scorched and tattered. For all his struggling, all it took to down him was a minimal effort of the dragon.

"Uhhhhhh…" Thor groaned, sliding his hands closer to push himself up.

" _Thor, Odinson, arise Odinson…."_

The soft voice called out to him, whispering from nearby but yet, far away.

" _Rise to meet your fate, your destiny awaits."_

The next breath Thor sucked in was not filled with acrid death, but rather the inviting sweetness of flowers, and the comforting warmness of a sunny afternoon. He felt his muscles relax, the pain in his body dissipate, and his mind become settled into a dreamlike haze.

A pair of hands reached over his shoulders, smooth as satin, like the embrace of a lover. They griped his chest and pulled him from the ground and set him on his knees. Opening his eyes, he saw himself back in the orchard of the golden apples, where Idunn grew the fruit that granted the gods their long life. All around him the trees gleamed and sparkled of the apples, each one precious to Asgard.

"How could I be here?" Thor asked aloud. "By what spell have I-"

" _Shhh, Thor."_ The voice, now behind his ear calmed him. " _Worry not, for you are safe now, you are home, you are where you belong."_

"I… I was in battle…" He tried to remember. "There was a great beast, and all the land was made a desolation."

" _No longer your concern, brave prince. Now, you can rest and be at peace."_ It seemed as if the lips were just barley about to caress him, but he could not yet bring himself to look around. " _You have fought valiantly, but that time has ended. You have earned your reward."_

An arm reached around him, slender, with skin as smooth and unblemished as the goddesses of love. In a graceful hand, was borne one of the golden apples, held in front of him for his taking.

" _Go on…. Take it…. Eat it…. It will soothe your cares."_

Reaching out, Thor slowly laid a hand on the apple, gazing at it transfixed. "But what of the monster? Whose scales were like unto this? Did I defeat it?"

" _The dragon does as it will… No longer your battle… Eat."_

Thor shook his head weakly, and looked away from the fruit. "But Midgard, the whole realm is still in danger! I must go back!"

" _You must rest Odinson, rest and be with me."_ The other arm tightened its hold around his chest, fingernails digging in.

"No!" Thor yelled, pushing the apple from him and wrestling himself free of this woman's hold. "I cannot sit idly by as all of Midgard and my allies are in such peril! Unhand me you-"

Turning to see who it was that tempted him, the free hand grabbed him by the throat and held him in place. He felt the warmth of the sun wash away to a cold chill, and the landscape faded into a wasteland of barren rocks and skies of endless smoke.

Looking over him was not Idunn, keeper of the golden apples, nor was it Lady Amora, the Enchantress who sought to make Thor her lover.

"Hela…" Thor gasped. Standing tall and not very pleased, she held him aloft at arm's length.

"Whatever creature you were fighting has brought you to my threshold." She told him with a cruel smirk. "Which means that I am on the verge of claiming your soul at long last."

"You shall never have my soul, death goddess!" He spat, struggling to free himself. "I yet live!"

"That you do… for now." Bending her arm, she brought him closer to her face. "But it is only a matter of time against this foe you face. Why go back only to die a brutal death, when I could give you peace right now? You'd only be losing but a few minutes of time anyway, this monster will the death of you."

"Not while I yet draw breath Hela! Now release me!"

She scoffed and tilted her face away from him. "As you wish." Releasing her grip, Hela began to float away from Thor, as everything else around them turned to black.

"I'll be seeing you very shortly."

Waking with a gasp of breath to fill his lungs, Thor opened his eyes to find himself back on the barren plains of Wakanda. He felt the wrist loop of Mjolnir around his hand, and he pulled on it to put the handle in his grip. Using the hammer as a crutch he pushed himself off the ground, the pain of Ghidorah's beams having returned full force.

"I am beset on all sides by those who would consume me. But the blood of Thor still runs hot, and my strength wanes not. As long as Mjolnir swings by my hand and the thunder answers to my call, I will remain on the mortal plane and my soul within this flesh. Neither monster from beyond nor mistress of Helheim shall budge me from either."

Standing to his feet, he craned his neck upward to see King Ghidorah lowering to the ground. Time itself slowed to a crawl watching the creature's descent, its brilliant figure a singular spectacle against the backdrop of the dark skies. Never before in his travels among the nine realms did Thor remember encountering anything quite like this thing. Not until Ragnarök, when the likes of Fenris, Surtur, and Jormungandr are unleashed to wage war on the gods did Thor imagine such a savagely powerful foe.

Truly, there was nothing like this anywhere else in the branches of Yggdrasil. And when there was something out of place like this, something that did not belong, there was usually the same hand behind it.

 _Loki…_ Thor said to himself. _I shall have to see if my brother has anything to do with this._

Ghidorah's foot was coming down, its shadow falling over Thor in a portent of the intent to crush him.

His hand tightened around Mjolnir's handle, and he began to drop his arm, his shoulder, indeed he bent low the right side of his body, mustering his power for one shot. He gazed up towards his target, keen eyesight discerning the path of his throw.

"Methinks thou hast tread upon many a world. You may find this one unwelcoming.

RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Heaving Mjolnir forward, the mighty hammer left Thor's grip and rocketed far past the speed of sound to its destination. It struck against the underside of Ghidorah's right foot and pierced the alien tissue, bursting through the top amongst a spray of blood as black as pitch.

The King of Terror had no time to react before the right head was struck on the rear of the jaw.

Inside Wakanda, as T'Challa sat among his people in the center of the city, their attention snapped upwards when they heard the earsplitting crack from outside the dome. Dozens rose from their seats, hopeful, praying that it sounded the defeat of the dreaded creature.

The head fell limp against Ghidorah's chest, its jaw misaligned and a trickle of ebony ichor dripping from the mouth. The others turned on their triplet with a growl of bewilderment, appraising the fallen with curiosity.

Mjolnir, still flying, came to an abrupt stop and reversed course.

While the remaining heads were distracted, Thor flew up to the left head, clutching himself to the side of its face like a cliffside. An iris taller than he was slid over to examine him.

"Take a good look vile beast!"

At the same moment Mjolnir was streaking on a straight path towards its masters hand, Thor drove his fist into Ghidorah's eye just as the hammer penetrated the other. Red fluid gushed out of the wounds, the head throwing itself into a blinded frenzy. When Thor pulled his arm out of the monster, he beheld Mjolnir once more.

"One more remains to be beaten." He muttered. Casting the hammer before him, it carried Thor to where the center head cackled spitefully at him. It quickly unleashed a golden bolt to intercept him, but Mjolnir carved right through it. Ghidorah was too late to shut its mouth when Thor latched onto one of the frontal fangs, using a single hand to keep the jaws separate.

A single swing and the front of Ghidorah's maxilla was broken in the middle. A wild cry escaped when the planet killer recoiled from the blow, and with its mouth open, Thor wrapped an arm around the tongue.

"I tire of your cries!" Jumping away Mjolnir first, he ripped the tongue out of Ghidorah's head, a bleeding, jagged collection of muscle tissue spurting the alien lifeblood to dribble over the corners of its mouth. A sickly gurgle was all the monster could sound as the two flailing heads wailed.

Dropping the several tons of flash aside, Thor curled his arm to look at his silent companion.

"Ever does thy might serve me in the darkest of times. I ask you now not to fear the nameless pit I cast thee into."

Rearing back, a dozen or more lightning bolts connected to Mjolnir before Thor flung it into the center head's mouth, and straight down its gullet, bringing with it a storm of heavenly wrath. Ghidorah staggered, the weight in its stomach distorting its balance. The center and left heads lashed out randomly with gravitic beams in every direction, one blinded, the other furious.

Landing a thousand yards away, Thor put Ghidorah between himself and Wakanda. He reached out his hand. "To me Mjolnir."

The dragon loosed a sharp yelp as it felt its insides churning, Mjolnir fighting its way to escape through the most direct route, the back. Ghidorah slid back a few inches, fighting the pull of Asgardian magic he dug his claws into the ground, and used his own manipulation of gravity to counter it.

With a grunt, Thor now put both hands forward, concentrating on the bond between him and Mjolnir.

"I'll wrench my hammer from your hide!"

Still defiant to the idea of being beaten by such an insignificant being, Ghidorah lurched forward with a cackle, overcoming the pain wracking its body. Mjolnir broke through the skin between golden scales, dislodging one in the process. It zoomed within a second to the hand of its bearer. Thor sneered as he shook off the black ichor.

"Is there nothing that will slay this creature?"

A guttural rumble from the monster drew Thor attention back to the enemy that refused to fall. One head still dangling, another's face covered in blood, the center bleeding in torrents from between its jaws. With a flap of his wings, Ghidorah was airborne, hovering just above the plain.

In the distance, and to his surprise, Thor spied that the dome over Wakanda was fading.

"Its spell has been broken! Battle has weakened it!"

Cheers went up in the city as they watched the walls around them dissipate. Many dropped to their hands and knees to thank their gods and champions, calling out in song and shout.

T'Challa braced himself on the shoulders of the subjects that surrounded him, still gazing upwards for any sign of Ororo. But the cloudy night sky was all he saw.

Thor and King Ghidorah glared at one another across the battlefield. The space titan has ceased its cries of pain, silently floating in place.

"What are you thinking, I wonder?" Thor asked himself. "Perhaps I shall see for myself what passes through your mind when I split your skull."

The left head turned back towards Wakanda, and sent a gravity bolt into the heart of the city.

"NO!" Thor exclaimed in shock. He made to move, but a bolt from the middle head tore away the ground in front of him. As he shielded himself, another strafe ripped through Wakanda. His Asgardian physiology granted him incredible hearing, and now his ears were filled with the cries of the people, their horror and their wailing.

Again, Thor tried to get closer, and had to use Mjolnir to protect himself from the continued assault. His plan had backfired, and put him farther away from the city he was trying to save, and put the enemy between them.

The attack paused long enough for Thor to look out from behind cover, to where a column of smoke rose from the once thriving city. This time, he remained still as the blind head somehow struck again, whole buildings obliterated in an instant.

" _The fiend only attacks me when I try to get to Wakanda."_ He realized. " _It dares me to come forward! The destruction of the city is but a lure, and I the catch!"_

Ghidorah let out a mocking crow, goading Thor to try and get past him.

"If this cruel demon challenges me to cross it, I shall not disappoint!" Launching himself towards the city, Thor was met by a golden bolt that clashed against Mjolnir. The blind head changed its focus and joined its own beam to the effort. Twin arcs of weaponized gravity slowed Thor's progress to a grind, forcing him to slog it out a few feet at a time.

"Try as you might villain, your power is no match for the champion of Midgard!" With renewed determination Thor pushed onward, bellowing his war-cry as he forced his way through.

Concentrating on fending off the attack, he failed to notice the movement of the fallen head. Slowly, carefully it turned, keeping its long neck down so as not to give itself away, waiting for an opening to strike.

Thor lifted Mjolnir above his head, ready to throw the bolts to the side when the third struck him in the stomach.

"AAAAHHH!" He screamed, doubling over.

The three heads combined their gravity beams into a single stream, a whole greater than its parts.

From the corner of his vision, Thor was able to see it coming and put his hammer up to block, but the collision was enough to press him to the ground. Muscles strained and willpower fortified as Thor held his weapon out, fighting an elemental force of nature that refused to be denied.

To break the deadlock, Ghidorah's wings channeled another of his powers, lavender energies flowed along the frame of his wings and sparked at the tips of the claws. Because this attack is derived from a different source than the gravity beams, and wasn't as versatile, Ghidorah wasn't as keen to employ it. However, it was useful in certain situations.

At once, several bolts of the lavender force were projected from the wings, engulfing Thor in a catastrophic maelstrom that showered around him.

Unlike the gravity bolts, these were developed to attack the nerves and neural systems of the body, stimulating the pain receptors to a capacity that would paralyze most Kaiju. Not even the mighty god of thunder was able to withstand the effects.

His resistance faltered, and the gravity bolts spilled over the top of Mjolnir and struck Thor in the chest. Thrown back in a rut for a hundred feet, the bolts amplified his density to the point that he couldn't raise his limbs off the ground. Ghidorah closed in, its blood falling to the ground and burning through the soil like acid to create jagged pits.

Pinned to the earth supinely, gritting his teeth, Thor squinted his eyes against the coursing shaft of punishing light. He opened his hand, and Mjolnir dragged itself through the dirt towards him, slowed to a crawl by the gravity beam.

Bit by bit the handle worked its way across his palm until at last it he was able to wrap his fingers around it. The plain was host to this fantastic display of hero versus monster, and bringing Mjolnir to his chest, Thor roared.

It was all ended in a second when Ghidorah slammed down. Hundreds of thousands of tons, magnified by gravitational manipulation crushed Thor underfoot with an impact that registered on seismographs in Russia.

Standing over his defeated foe at last, Ghidorah laughed its humorless cackle.


	16. Chapter 16: ARMA-GIGAN-GEDDON!

**CHINA**

The inorganic and the mythical collided in the ancient forest, turning the beautiful green valley into a pockmarked war zone.

Dashing backwards with a flap of her wings, Mothra dodged a swipe from Gigan's right scythe, chirping and retaliating with twin beams from her antennae.

Guarding himself with his other limb, Gigan deflected the attack and twirled around to lash out with his tail.

"Jeez" Said Cyclops as he shook his head. "That thing is going to butcher Mothra if it gets the chance."

Watching the fight from a hillside, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Kitty and Wasp looked on in awe as a creature of beauty and nobility warred with a monstrosity of alien flesh and engineering.

"She seems to be holding her own so far." Wasp clutched a hand to her chest, wincing every time one of the cyborg's blades nearly cleaved through their newfound ally.

Kurt did not share her optimism. "Ja, but for how long?"

Gigan lunged head first, his visor glowing. Savvy to his tricks however, Mothra loosed a cloud of reflective scales just as the ruby beam was fired, resulting in a massive detonation much closer than the alien Frankenstein anticipated. He stumbled back blinded, unable to stop Mothra from slamming the side of her body into him with such force it sent Gigan careening several hundred meters.

The group on the hillside let out a collective groan.

"It looks like he got thrown from a car!" Kitty exclaimed with a raised eyebrow, stifling a laugh.

As Mothra continued the fight, charging forward then evading a red beam, the leader of the X-Men pursed his lips. Scott Summers didn't like being sidelined in a fight, not least one with this much at stake. He kept trying to think of ways for his team to help the benevolent Kaiju in some way, but it just seemed like nothing they did at their scale mattered.

"Look!" Nightcrawler called out. The others turned to see him pointing to where a barrel-shaped craft was lowering itself to the ground on thrusters. The large "Stark Industries" logo on the side confirmed that this was the rescue that Janet's fellow Avenger had dispatched to them. Bearing the same color scheme as its creator, it landed with a surprisingly quiet thud, and a section unfolded to make a walkable ramp and an open space for them to enter.

Kitty was the first to make a move for the pod. "Exit, stage left!" She mused as she climbed inside. Attached to the inner walls were six seats, padded for comfort and stability, and interlaced with five-point harnesses.

From a speaker overhead, the familiar voice of the AI JARVIS greeted them. "Please enter quickly, and the pod will transport you to safety."

"Sweet!" Kurt said, appearing in a seat and beginning to fiddle with the harness straps.

Wasp entered next, giving the portable room a look-over. "I hope he put a bathroom in this thing…"

Last, Cyclops put a foot on the threshold, pausing as he braced his hands on the sides.

 _I really should get in a seat._ He thought to himself. But a combination of shrieks, one mechanic and another soulful, turned his ear.

"Uh-oh." Janet said, noticing Scott's delay. "I've seen that look on Captain Rogers a dozen times. And it never winds-up with a quiet ride home."

"I've never run away from a fight I thought I could win." Cyclops muttered with a snarl. "And I never left a friend behind."

The rest were taken aback.

"Is there something about _ze_ giant monster fight you think you can win?" An incredulous Nightcrawler asked from his seat. "Did you make friends with _ze_ giant bug while I vasn't looking?"

Scott slammed his fist in the wall. "We can help. We can do something."

"We already tried 'something' Scott. What more can we do?" Kitty pleaded.

Glancing back to where Mothra was pushing the assault on a retreating Gigan, Cyclops made up his mind.

"You guys get to safety, I'm gonna stay and help her."

"That would be a very dangerous decision Mr. Summers." JARVIS warned. "Data I acquired while on the other side indicates-"

"I appreciate the advice, but the X-Men specialize in danger. We even have a room for it."

Leaving the pod, Cyclops took a few steps before peering over his shoulder to see if anyone was going to stay with him.

"Anybody else?"

"Well I'm certainly not going to leave you here alone." Kitty told him as she walked down the ramp.

Wasp rolled her eyes, "The rest of the Avengers would never let me live it down." She too, abandoned the craft.

"Oh come on!" Kurt objected, raising his hands in frustration. He disappeared in a plume of smoke, and reappeared alongside Cyclops.

"I suppose if ve are in this, ve are in zis together, ja?"

Scott nodded to his friend. "Alright team, first time around we were playing softball. Now we swing for the fences."

Looking to the wreckage of the Blackbird, he smirked.

Parrying a beam combo Gigan leaped forward, extending a stab with his arm with the target of Mothra's belly. The guardian was forced to bend back horizontally to avoid being impaled, the tip of the scythe barely missing her. She rolled in place, and knocked his arm away before he had the chance to follow through, banking at a hard angle to keep the cyborg in front of her.

Thrusters activated, Gigan launched into the air, his thin red beam cutting a zigzag path along the ground until it threatened to slice of Mothra's wing. It struck the edge before she snapped herself away with a painful chirp, the point of contact singed and burning. While she was flailing, Gigan's chest saw buzzed to life, and he dive-bombed straight for her.

A ruby beam struck Gigan in the head, surprising him and disrupting his flight. Seeing the opening, Mothra raced up to him, grabbed his tail with her claws and somersaulted, slamming him back-first into the ground.

"Great shot!" Wasp commended, Cyclops next to her in the bush putting his visor back on. "Hawkeye would totally be jealous."

"Thanks Jan. If we can keep hitting him where he doesn't expect us, we can give Mothra more opportunities to finish him."

Gigan wailed as he shook off the dirt and debris, getting back to his feet with his arms raised defensively. Mothra squared off with him, firing an array of ultrasonic beams to keep him in place.

In a poof of dark blue smoke, Nightcrawler and Kitty landed on the cyborg's forehead. Between them they carried a section of the Blackbird's fuselage taller than either of them.

"NOW!" Kurt yelled.

Together they hefted the metal, and using Kitty's phasing power, put it through the surface of the smaller red optic until it stuck halfway out. Their task done, Kurt grabbed her by the shoulder and teleported them both away.

Trying to get back on the offensive, Gigan used his thrusters to dash sideways, and prepared to lance her through with a beam. As the mechanisms generated the power, an error alert flashed in his mind that the structure was compromised, but they were too late.

The optic in the middle of Gigan's forehead exploded in a flash of red energy, causing the alien slave to scream and spasm.

Mothra reared back her wings, accumulating internal and lunar energies until the patterns glowed. With a single flap, she projected the energy in a wave that kept the shape of the wings, hard light weaponry. The wave collided into the paralyzed Gigan full-force.

The guardian of life on Earth, beautiful and divine, Mothra felt a pang of compassion for her opponent. It was just a feature of her nature. She knew Gigan was still a living creature, mangled and brutalized by whatever beings had first transformed him. Then mutilated further by the Vortaak that discarded even more of his natural body, exchanging touch and emotion for metal and circuitry. As formidable an enemy as he was, she pitied him.

The light force hit Gigan with his defenses down, and he was lifted bodily off his feet by the shockwave. His tactical response programming raced to initiate an effective counter-measure, and while he was still airborne, one was activated.

Gigan vanished in a flash, and manifested behind Mothra. Swinging down, he slashed through her right wing, opening a tear in the center. She cried out and fell to the ground, trying desperately to get back up on her good wing. Still disoriented, the alien cyborg came down behind her and made his version of a growl sound as he leveled his arm at her.

Grappling hooks launched from their batteries underneath the scythe, and wrapped themselves around Mothra's neck. The cables began retracting, yanking her backwards against her struggling and alarmed trills.

"The lines!" Cyclops yelled, he and Nightcrawler sprinting. "We have to sever the lines!"

Taking to the air, Gigan strangled Mothra as he hauled her along. She fluttered madly to keep up, feeling the metal beginning to rip her apart. Gigan however had no interest in giving her the time to adjust, and dived low, skimming the top of the forest. The arc caused Mothra to crash into the earth on her back before plowing through everything where Gigan dragged her. Her wails filled the valley and the human observers with fear.

"That thing is going to kill her!" On their own trail, Kitty and Wasp watched on in horror as the ran on a parallel path to the fight. Seeing their ally getting the worst of it, Kitty wished there was more she could do.

"If only I could phase his head through a mountain!"

Wasp put a finger to her ear, "Tony! How's things coming on your end?"

* * *

 **STARK ORBITAL PLATFORM "VERONICA"**

"Just about ready Jan!" In zero gravity, Tony Stark worked his way through several floating holographic data windows.

"Just buy me another minute."

Bringing one around in front of himself, he saw the feed of Gigan stopping short to allow Mothra to collide into his feet.

"Try and put some distance between those two, I don't want the good one to be collateral damage."

"You got it!" Janet confirmed. Glancing to Kitty, she swallowed a nervous lump.

"I've got something that should slow him down." She said with questionable confidence. "But only for a few moments. Do you think you can get to Mothra? Get those cables off her?"

The junior X-Men didn't have an answer in the moment. She had never attempted to phase something that size before, never mind under a high-stress situation like this. But millions of lives, including theirs, were at stake.

"I'll try like hell."

Gigan approached the writhing Mothra, giving her head a sharp kick. Looking down at her, his scanners revealed reams of information, not that he was particularly interested in the heat of battle. This was the third time they had fought each other. The first had been thousands of this planet's years ago, when interested Nebulan colonizers had come exploring for a new outpost in their continuing conflict with the Simeons. They used him to smash any local resistance on selected planets, the vanguard for the occupation forces. Mothra had come to the rescue of the burgeoning Humanity and repelled him.

The second, had been under the command of the Vortaak empire, the matriarchal half of the Xillian race. His deployment had been to combat the Earth's defenders, mainly the most powerful one. But Mothra had intervened in the battle, taking him away from Godzilla, and fought him to a standstill wherein both were critically injured.

Now, abducted to this planet, with no command signal from the masters to guide him, Mothra had found him again, determined to defeat him at last. In the absence of a current command directive, he would execute the standing orders for this world: destroy the host resistance, ensuring the successful occupation of command forces.

With an ear-splitting shriek, Gigan raised its free arm, the scythe poised to run his enemy through to the ground.

A puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the grappling cable's length, Cyclops and Nightcrawler clinging to it like a tree. Aiming a few feet above from where he hung onto, Scott took off his visor, and let the unfettered power of his crimson beams burn through the space-metal.

The tethers came apart with a snap, and as the lower half fell away the X-Men removed themselves from harm's way in a wisp of sulfuric miasma.

Gigan was unprepared for the sudden release, and was thrown off balance by the whiplash.

"Good thing you're light!" A tiny Janet van Dyne said as she helped to lift Kitty up the slope of Mothra's head. Holding onto the nape of her uniform, Wasp used her deceptive strength to boost Kitty as she climbed the up the cable that encircled the Kaiju's neck.

Moving her hands and feet quickly up each spiraling strand, Kitty broke a smile. "I'm so self conscious about my waistline, it's ridiculous!"

Together they reached the curve of the summit, Wasp releasing her to make the rest of the way on her own.

"You can do it, girl!" Janet cheered before darting away.

Pryde took a deep breath. "Ok, concentrate." Crawling her way along the turbulent geography, she rushed until she reached the middle. Laying a hand on either cable, she psyched herself up with a series of paced breaths, then channeled her phasing ability into as much of the tree-trunk wide lines as she could.

Recovering from the snapback, Gigan screamed in anger when he examined his severed cables, the interference of the humans a serious obstacle. Looking back to Mothra, he prepared to finish her off with a point blank blast of his remaining optic beam.

"Here goes nothing!" Putting herself in-between the two monsters, Janet reversed the mechanics of her shrinking ability, growing instead to many times her normal height. Her feet met the ground as she continued to rise, 25-feet, 40-feet, 65-feet, 90, 100-feet before she stopped. Straining her muscles and willpower to maintain the height, she raised her hands towards Gigan's face and fired a volley of her stinger blasts.

The cyborg was bombarded from below by orbs of yellow energy the size of tanks. Though she was only a third of Gigan's height, the alien was forced to stagger back by the rapid fire assault. They were not concussive, but the energies penetrated through the armor and played havoc with the touch sensors and circuitry that lay beneath.

"Come on!…" Wasp grunted, the effort wearing her down faster than she anticipated. "Just a little longer!"

The barrage overloaded Gigan's sensory input data, preventing him from coordinating enough processing power to activate a teleportation from the line of fire. In a impulsive move he spun in place, his bladed tail slicing through the air.

Janet caught the movement in time to duck, "WHOA!" causing her stamina to give way. She instinctively shrunk back down to her flying form, and circled back around to where she had left Kitty.

Her eyes shut and sweat dripping from her forehead, Kitty felt her power flowing through the length of the cables. " _It just has to be long enough!"_ She told herself, " _It just had to be long enough for-"_

Surging upward like a resurrection, Mothra moved through the intangible cables, freeing herself from their choke hold. Unprepared for the sudden lurch, Kitty shrieked as she passed through the Kaiju, emerging out the other side as Mothra got away. Opening her eyes to now find herself astride a pair of unsupported cables, she realized to her dread that there was nothing to stop her from falling the several stories to the ground.

The lines collapsed and fell away from one another, forcing Kitty to hang from one by her fingertips.

"Oh no, no, no, no!" The cable pitched and she lost her grasp, falling backwards with arms outstretched.

"One good turn deserves another!" The tiny voice of Wasp called out as she wrapped both arms around Kitty's wrist. "Get ready for a rough landing!"

Unable to support the weight fully, Wasp glided them down at an angle until Kitty could hit the ground running and combat roll to a stop. Pryde chose to spend a few moments laying on the ground to catch her breath and settle her nerves. Janet grew to her normal size and sat beside her.

"You X-Men don't disappoint on the death-defying action huh?"

"Unfortunately not."

"You know…" Wasp began, "When you were hanging there, I had to resist the urge to say: 'hang in there'."

It took Kitty a second, but as the image of the famous poster came to mind, she started to chuckle.

Mothra, listing to one side, prepared for another go-round with her long time rival. Her injured wing stung, but after her battles with King Ghidorah and Godzilla, it was nothing that couldn't be dealt with. In that moment she remembered that even if she defeated Gigan, there would still be both of them to go face. Godzilla she could try and persuade, but there was no chance of surviving Ghidorah in her current state.

Unless…

The guardian of life on Earth began chirping, trying to reach the alien cyborg on some level of communication. Somehow, Mothra hoped, if she could somehow get him on her side, than the trio of Gigan, Godzilla, and herself could defeat the planet killer. Even though he had been a consistent opponent, the idea wasn't any more improbable that it had been in 1964.

Gigan, seeing her change in posture hesitated to continue the fight, appraising her curiously. His audio processors told him that she was trying to communicate with him. Was this a new type of offensive strategy? Was this a distraction? Gigan offered only a sharp warble in return, unable to understand what his foe was attempting.

In bits and pieces, Gigan's mind began to translate the chirps and trills, like hearing a transmission fading in and out of clarity through static.

"… _you….to….please help…together…stop…orah…"_

This was new to him, fascinating, and he lowered his defensive posture the longer he listened.

"… _we don't…fight…you can…"_

A sudden pulse of incapacitating pain swept over Gigan, buckling his knees. His internal systems began to put a firewall around the incoming communication and the translation data, blocking it off from him. Outwardly he spasmed and jerked, inwardly his data feed was glitching and running through reams of information and readings. Finally, the system went dark.

Standing in place, Gigan fell silent. Arms dropping to the side, the light in his visor fading out, and his posture stooping.

"What just happened?" Nightcrawler asked, he and Cyclops having rejoined the women. "Did she use the secret password?"

Scott shook his head. "I don't know. He looked like was listening to her, then he went on the fritz and shut down."

Mothra tilted her head and barked, not knowing whether to be worried or relieved.

First the optic visor returned, its red light expanding from the center outwards. Then his head snapped up straight, the system rebooted. His targeting system locked onto Mothra as his face rotated in her direction.

"You guys…" A wary Kitty said. "I think Gigan just did a hard reset."

Regarding Mothra with a drawn-out wail, Gigan tilted his head

"Hey Wasp!" Tony Stark yelled into Janet's earpiece. "Get clear!"

"Time to go!" She told her teammates, waving an arm in the opposite direction of the Kaiju.

The group gathered together, "Kurt, take us back to the pod!" Cyclops ordered.

" _Keine problem_." Nightcrawler said with no small degree of relief.

Mothra retreated slightly as Gigan took a step forward, she knew she'd been connecting with him, there was something underneath the synthetic exterior. But right now that part of him wasn't in charge.

"Target acquired, Sir."

Seeing the reticule focus in on Gigan from the bird's eye view, Tony Stark entered the last of the firing protocols.

"Fire when ready JARVIS."

The orbital platform thrummed with the sound of arc-reactor generators amplifying their output. Beams of light cast from each of the five fingers converged over the center of the hand-shaped machine to create an artifact. Built into the palm, was an arc-reactor 50-meters wide that started glowing brighter and brighter as the generators amassed their power.

Gigan shot his optic beam, but it was deflected by a cloud of scale from Mothra's wings, erupting in a jarring multitude of explosions, the percussive force shoving her back. The cyborg continued to advance.

A column of repulsor energy shot out of the orbital gauntlet with a massive _THUUME_ , streaking towards the Earth.

"Holy cow." Pausing in the threshold of the escape pod, Kitty stared up at the point of light that got larger and larger by the second.

Catching sight of the incoming blast, Mothra yelped and fluttered away.

Gigan halted, not trusting the abrupt departure of his adversary, and expanded the range of his ambient sensors to detect any approaching threat. By the time his scanners identified the repulsor beam, he craned his head skywards, there was no time for evasive maneuvers.

The energy beam hit the ground like a meteorite, smashing a hole into the ground that turned trees and boulders into shrapnel. The crater left was covered in charred earth, a trail of smoke rising from the epicenter.

"Target missed, Sir." JARVIS stated.

"WHAT!?" Stark yelled in shock, glancing between several data windows. "Where the hell did it go?"

Manifesting in a flash, Gigan had teleported several hundred feet in the air, the only means to escape harm in a split second. Engaging his long-range telemetries, he used the angle data of the beam to retrace the direction it had been fired from. Hovering high in stable orbit, he discovered the Stark satellite. With an angry screech, his thrusters propelled him into the atmosphere.

"JARVIS, how long until we can fire again?" Eyeing the feed of Gigan rocketing towards the station, Tony's mind raced to parse his options.

"Two minutes to sufficient capacity, Sir."

"And how long until Gigan intercepts us?"

"Approximately one minute, Sir."

"Damn…" There was one trick that might work, but it bordered on exceedingly risky. "Tighten the fist JARVIS, deploy the defensive batteries, and set this thing on a collision course. We'll see if Gigan wants to play space-chicken."

The fingers of the station closed to form a fist, the boosters and stabilizers on the other end igniting to push it out of orbit.

"Sir, I advise against a direct impact. I'm still unable to discern what metals Gigan is armored with, they're not elements I understand."

"Hopefully he doesn't know that." Tony said, "I'm usually one of those guys who can bluff his way out of a fight."

On another nearby satellite station, many more onlookers were tracking the events.

"Director!" A male tech called out, "We've got another one! Just entered our jurisdiction."

Striding over to the station where the technician had brought-up a depiction of two coordinates moving towards one another, a green-haired woman examined the readings. The signal that had originated on Earth matched the data of the anomaly that had appeared over China.

"Got you now." SWORD director Abigail Brand snarled.

A dozen cannons unfolded from their compartments around the circumference of the VERONICA satellite, and began shooting their own smaller repulsor beams.

Gigan navigated into the hailstorm of fire, the Vortaakian armor easily protecting him from the inadequate ballista. Whatever this construct was, it clearly posed enough of a threat to place itself among his designated targets for destruction. A threat that had to be neutralized.

In case of the worst, Stark donned his personal armor, the face plate coming down as he watched the distance between them shrink.

"I think you need a lady's touch."

"20,000 meters Sir."

"Stay the course JARVIS."

"14,000 meters Sir."

The front of VERONICA became cradled in a fiery aura, the friction of re-entry turning the satellite into a burning cudgel.

"8,000 meters Sir."

"Come on you son of a bitch" Tony muttered. "Take one on the chin."

"2,000 meters."

As agile as he was on the planet's surface, in space, Gigan was unsurpassed.

With a shriek Gigan flipped over, activating his chest saw. As he and VERONICA converged, Gigan skimmed along the underside, the buzzsaw slicing through the satellite's armor.

Inside, a number of alarms and sirens were going off, inundating Tony with red lights and strobes.

"Superficial damage to the exterior." JARVIS reported, a half-dozen data windows circling Iron Man. "But power to several of the stabilizers has been cut-off."

Still hurtling towards Earth, the satellite started to wobble, losing the ability to stay straight.

"If the underside ends-up in the front, it'll peel the armor off!" Stark realized, "And if the reactor core is de-stabilized, this whole thing goes supernova!"

VERONICA coming to an unexpected stop threw Iron Man against the wall, along with everything else in the cabin that wasn't nailed down.

" _TUUUUH!"_ The sound of the wind knocked out of him compounded by the pressure that squeezed his chest, was the same he'd make after being punched in the breadbox.

"JARVIS!" Tony wheezed, "What the hell man?"

Instead of his often smarmy AI, there was a soft singing that answered him. A pleasant melody that he had only heard once before. Tony smiled because he knew he'd been saved.

Holding the satellite in her claws, Mothra trilled, heading into the outer atmosphere.

Seeing the two adversaries together, Gigan growled and dashed to attack them both.

Mothra fired a series of beams from her antennae, strafing ahead of her to keep Gigan from getting too close. The cyborg glided between them deftly, having evaded long-range fire from more than a hundred worlds. He returned fire with his optic beam, which she avoided by inches.

Exiting the thermosphere, Mothra released the Stark satellite into the weightlessness of space, continuing on to try and draw Gigan's attention away.

"Thanks for the save big girl!" Iron Man said, unsure if she could hear him or not. An egress hatch on the exterior opened, his specialized armor allowing him to live for a time separated from auxiliary life-support systems. Long enough he hoped, for him to get a few of the stabilizing thrusters back on-line

If she was at a disadvantage before, outside of Earth's nourishing atmosphere Mothra was even more vulnerable. The life-force of the planet was the source of her powers, and this wasn't even her Earth. But the Sun was pretty much the same.

Putting the sunset to her back as it descended below the western horizon, she felt the solar energy soak into her wings. The light not only stored itself in her cells to revitalize her, but healed the tear in her wings. Like the world that begot her, she too was replenished by the life-giving touch of Sol.

Gigan opened the compartments in his chest, and released the pair of flying razor disks to lead the way ahead of him. Constructed around a remotely controlled gyrostabilizer, Gigan could guide them as accurately as if they were a part of his body.

The disks honed in on the unmoving guardian, their targeting instruments bracketed in on her head. A payment in kind for the conclusion to their previous encounter.

Her attention snapping to the incoming attack, Mothra bolted forward in a blur of sunlight, weaving her way through the disks with a spiral that left a twisting golden streak. The disks detected their missed objective, and circled back around.

Gigan fired his optic beam once more, and this time it struck home, meeting Mothra head-on. The ray however was deflected as she burned through it, casting the crimson energy aside like one arrow piercing another.

Recognizing the form of attack, Gigan avoided colliding into her with a barrel-roll over the top, coming down on the other side. He turned around just in time to receive his razor disks back into their pectoral compartments. Much had been learned since they last battled, strategies updated, techniques refined.

"All stations, prepare to fire."

Aboard the S.W.O.R.D. orbital station The Peak, Director Brand watched as her subordinates went about their tasks of preparing to fire the FERG. They had missed their first shot, and she was determined not to miss again.

Mothra approached from behind Gigan, attempting to latch onto his wings and cripple his flight capabilities. But the savvy cyborg anticipated her, and reached up with the four-pronged claw of his tail and dug them into the base of her abdomen. She wailed as her exoskeleton was pierced, pale green ichors spurting out and the globules drifting off.

Contorting himself to face her, Gigan readied for a point-blank blast of his optic beam to decapitate her, but then found himself immersed in a cloud of the shimmering reflective scales. Pulling back on the discharge at the last second, he was dazzled by the multitude of tiny surfaces creating a barrage of light. Mothra knew she had him stunned, and proceeded to fire her own ultrasonic beams into the cloud, where they bounced off the scales a dozen times before assailing Gigan.

"We all lined-up JARVIS?"

"Indeed, Sir."

With both hands and a shoulder, Iron Man was physically adjusting VERONICA, turning it in the direction of Mothra and Gigan's fight.

"Those stabilizers back online yet?"

"The necessary ones are Sir. You'll be able to fire the Repulsor-Cannon, but restoring flight control will require hands-on repair."

"That'll do JARVIS, that'll do."

Mothra's strategy continued, despite the bleeding from her wounds. She and her brother had used a similar trap to incapacitate Godzilla, and it seemed to be working again. Gigan dare not fire his optic beam, or deploy his razor disks into the scales, he had learned those lessons. At such close range however, neither would be necessary. He would finish this adversary once and for all.

Launching his remaining grapple hooks from the left arm, Gigan aimed them for her head once more. The scales redirected the barbs onto harmless paths, but the distraction was enough to draw Mothra's attention for the few precious seconds.

Thrusting forward with an underhand drive, Gigan stabbed his right scythe into Mothra's thorax between her legs. She loosed a high-pitched wail that lost itself in the vacuum of space, the impalement a mortal blow.

"NOOOO!" Iron Man screamed, horrified by the magnification of the image in his internal display .

"JARVIS, acquire target and fire!"

"Acquiring now Sir." JARVIS confirmed as the fingers opened.

Aboard the Peak, the crew stood to their feet, mouths agape and wide eyed. Even Director Brand cringed. The only voice in the bridge, was the countdown.

"5, 4, 3..."

Mothra shuddered as she writhed on the point of the blade, the light in her compound eyes going dim. Blood trickled from the corner of her mandibles, brought up by the piercing of her lungs. Her strength began to fail her and the claws that scratched at the length of alien metal got weaker and weaker.

At the same moment the Focused Energy Rail Gun of the Peak discharged its shot of green energy, the Repulsor-cannon of VERONICA fired.

Gigan reared back with his left arm, ready to bring it down, ready to win this ancient feud for good, ready to sever Mothra's head from her body.

As he swung down, his long range scanners detected impending energy attacks. In the heartbeat his combat reflexes realized that he was too encumbered to dodge in time, and there was too much interference from the scales to activate his teleportation, Gigan squawked.

The combined blasts from the Peak and the Stark satellite hit the cloud of reflective scales, and pushed through the nebulous obstruction within a second with a popping sound before they met each other and exploded.

The detonation dwarfed both kaiju in a brilliant flash of light.

Iron Man shut his eyes and turned his face away, his mouth twisted in a scowl.

"Anything we can do for her JARVIS?"

"Nothing from here Sir, we simply can't reach her."

Gigan's unconscious form was pulled into Earth's atmosphere, its eye dark. Though its armor would withstand the heat of re-entry as it accumulated speed, he was severely damaged from head to toe. Electricity sparked from a number of breaks in the joints between sections, his arms connected by a few bare wires and the space-titanium that comprised the skeleton. The vanguard of the Nebulans and Vortaak plummeted broken to Earth.

Mothra's lifeless body was thrown in the opposite direction, the whole back of her alight in an orange nimbus as she too was claimed by gravity.

The crew of the Peak remained silent as they watched the glare dissipate on their main monitor. A few bowed their heads, some shed a tear.

"Both monsters appear to be neutralized Ma'am." Announced a stoic technician. "Projections estimate that Gigan will come down in the mid-Atlantic, between Brazil and Africa. Mothra, somewhere on Antarctica."

Director Brand, pursed her lips and nodded her head slightly. "Get me on the horn with SHIELD, we need to coordinate recovery efforts."

A number of faces peered out from the small windows of the rescue pod as it rocketed towards safe harbor in Japan. Kitty and Nightcrawler in one window stared at the faint light of the explosion far higher in the sky, wondering what it meant.

Cyclops and Janet in another both felt like they knew the answer.

* * *

 **TEMPORARY SHIELD HQ**

 **NEW YORK CITY 0029 HRS**

The medical wing of the underground facility, after the ordeal of handling the surge of wounded in the wake of Godzilla's and Orga's attacks, had finally settled into a quiet routine. The harmony kept by the steady rhythms of the cardiographs and ventilators that stayed the hand of death from taking any one of the dozens who teetered on the brink.

With the triage sorted out after hours of chaos, flared tempers, and so much blood it had to be mopped up, many lay asleep. The staff of trained medical personnel and volunteers taking their own break to rotate the most weary out for some downtime, while others continued to monitor the patients and organize the supplies that continued to pour in. Cots filled the rooms and hallways, bearing those who injuries didn't require the comfort of a proper hospital bed, and even many whose did.

Behind a large viewing window in the isolation ward, two figures stood in contemplative silence, hovering a foot away from where their own reflection was superimposed over the comatose body of Bruce Banner. Steve Rogers, his friend and sentinel, stared over at the peaceful face of his fellow Avenger under the breathing mask, where the fog of his breath continued to cloud the plastic. The respirator next to his bed rose and fell, pumping air into lungs that might otherwise shatter windows.

Rogers had his arms crossed over his chest, the tension not just in his nerves but on his mind. On top of all the repercussions of SHIELD being crippled, the Orga creature had rendered one of the most powerful heroes on the planet a vegetable. But at least he was alive, which was more than could be said for hundreds of others. And that was the work of one of the "good" Kaiju.

"It's odd to see him like this."

Next to Steve, Betty Ross looked even more drained than he did. Her hair a sweaty, unruly nest; her face drawn in exhaustion. She had spent most of her time since arriving assisting the hospital staff, doing all she could to take her mind off the obvious. Now that the calm of night had settled in however, she found herself staring at a man that tormented her to love. Due to the unique nature of the effects of Bruce's accelerated heart rate, it wasn't since before the accident that they'd been…together. Seeing him in bed once more, so quiet and serene, it brought back better memories of their former life.

"I know." Rogers agreed. "I'm so used to seeing him either busying himself with something in the lab, or tearing through walls."

"It was his damn hero complex you know." A stifled sob in her voice, Betty recalled a familiar pain in her heart. "Like when he rushed out onto the testing grounds to rescue that kid and threw himself into danger, the selfless bastard."

Tentatively, Rogers put a hand on her shoulder. "I'd say it's part of the job. But we both know it's just part of who he is."

Tearing herself away from the sight, Betty leaned her shoulder into the window. "I've been running around all day, did they give a prognosis?"

"They said it looks like the worst case of exhaustion they'd ever seen. He'll just need time to recuperate. Fortunately, there's enough of the other guy left in him to take the brunt of the physical injuries. So he should recover."

They stood in silence for a few minutes more, both their minds racing with objectives to be accomplished in a short amount of time.

"What are they Steve?" She asked him, snaring his attention with a start. "Why are these creatures here?"

"Hell if I know." He said with a disquiet tone. "No one seems to, not even Richards. They're from the other world, but they didn't come through the same way Godzilla and Mothra did. I think there's another hand at work we're not seeing."

A pair of nurses walked by, loaded down with dirty sheets, some crimson flaps poking out of the pile.

"I've reached out to a few specialists." Steve continued. "But the ones I've heard back from weren't able to help. All SHIELD's resources are just so tied up at the moment."

Indeed, in the wake of the events, several terrorist groups and super-villains had taken the opportunity to strike. Hydra and launched attacks in Europe and Asia, chatter among the Brotherhood of Mutants had picked up to a frightening degree, and there were unconfirmed reports of movement in Latveria.

For all the destruction the Kaiju were causing, there were plenty of home-world villains to match them. If the Mutants decided to hit a major city, they could wipe out hundreds of lives before intervention. Hydra could attack Washington D.C., and take the nation's leaders hostage. It was all just too much at one time.

An uncomfortable silence had grown between them, and Betty decided she couldn't stand it. "Any word on Fury yet?" It was just something that came to her mind.

"Nothing." Stepping back to lean against the wall, Captain America hung his head. "We've recovered all but a few bodies from the wreckage of the Triskelion, still no sign of him."

"I saw those… Shadows." Like the others, she knew that some of the people had been obliterated by Godzilla's beam. "Maybe…There's nothing left of him to find."

Rogers cocked his head like he was working an ache out of his neck. "No, just doesn't… it just doesn't feel right. I keep thinking I'm going to turn around and see him standing in the doorway, with that _'You thought my job was easy huh?'_ look on his face."

"I suppose I know the feeling." Many times, Betty had dreamed that the past few years had all been some terrible dream, and that she'd wake up to find Bruce next to her, or sitting at the breakfast table, waiting with a smile. But that day never came. Despite what she felt for him, seeing him just made her angry, angry over the life she was denied, angry that the best man she knew could do nothing about it. Angry, to see him driven into a desperation that she couldn't help him through.

"We don't always get what we want."

A sudden surge in activity inside the ICU brought both of them to the window. Bruce's cardiograph spiked, his heart racing and his chest pulled upwards as if by some invisible force. The team of SHIELD doctors assigned to his care awoke with a bewildering start in their side station, sprinting to his bedside to check the equipment and try to understand what was occurring. Banner began to seizure, thrashing against the restraints and bucking so hard they had to pin him down.

Ross could see the eyes of the medical staff in between their sterile protective gear, wide with terror. She couldn't blame them, at any moment the Incredible Hulk might erupt, a monster of pure rage and instinct to smash them all. It was in a situation like this that she had first watched Bruce transform. She had no need to imagine the disaster that Hulk could wreak if he woke up in this situation.

But just as quickly as the furor began, it ended. Bruce's body collapsed to the mattress and went limp, leaving every one of the medical crew stunned. The readings of the equipment returned to normal, and everything went back as if nothing at all had happened. One woman doubled over, hands on her knees, and took several long breaths. Afraid to move and trigger some aftershock, the doctors simply watched as Banner's chest rose and fell.

A breathless Captain Rogers turned to Betty. "Any idea what just happened in there?"

"If I had to guess…" She gulped. "His body just got over the healing hump. The regenerative aspects of his cells reasserting themselves with a vengeance."

"Sounds like a good prognosis." He muttered, just glad that an enormous green rage-monster hadn't come out. "Whatever that Orga-thing did to him was temporary."

"Well if Godzilla is any indication, I'd say it's only a minor affliction." In the time since the alien's attack on the SHIELD base, Rogers had provided her with information obtained by Reed Richards about the monster. Whether or not a human could recover like the giant radioactive beast could, was not something she planned to pin her hopes on. This, luck or not, was a good sign.

Footsteps coming towards them from the end of the hall drew their attention, to a face neither one of them had particularly thought of seeing here.

"Look at him, sleeping like a baby." Cupping his hands over his brow to stare through the window, Hawkeye let out a snort of amusement. "Orga must have Nyquil in his saliva."

Turning to his slightly annoyed company, Clint gave them a casual smile. "Big guy'll be just fine. Don't you worry."

"How'd things go with Strange?" Rogers asked.

Barton's face went from content, to confused, then to indecisive. "Well, turns out he's real busy with something. I asked what, and his house-boy, you know, the little guy Wong? He started going on about some mystical mumbo-jumbo, about the ancient tome's of evil, and the transcendences of the astro-something, and the hairy hosts of Hogwarts. I can't follow that stuff.

Long story short, Dr. Strange is deep into some Sorcerer Supreme stuff, and therefore cannot help us fight giant monsters."

That was not good news. Stephen Strange was one of the few people who could be a huge help in sending the Kaiju back to their own world. But if he was too tied up with something to help the Avengers stop monsters from destroying cities, then Rogers guessed it must be pretty damn important.

"So we'll just have to get Richards back on track to creating another portal then." The thought was not exactly an enticing one, but it was the next logical choice. Besides, this was technically all his fault.

"Speaking of Reed…" Hawkeye began. "I wonder if he's given any thought to the legal consequences he might be facing when this is over."

"What do you mean?" Ross leaned in.

"I mean… If I had a dog, and he got loose and bit someone, I'd be responsible. I'd be charged for it. Reed created a door that allowed a 30-story monster to walk though and… well… Exactly how many cases of negligent homicide is "Mr. Fantastic" up against?"

While the thought of blaming Reed Richards for the carnage and death brought about in New York and the with the Navy seemed absurd. Rogers nonetheless had to concede at least logically, that he might face formal charges for perceived crimes, at the very least enough lawsuits that could bankrupt the Fantastic Four.

"We'll cross that bridge when he get to it. For now, we need to concentrate on getting the monsters under control."

* * *

 **AZORES**

 **1247 HRS.**

"Are you sure about this Fury?"

Standing on the isolated rocky outcropping in the mid-Atlantic, Wanda Maximoff looked back to the man who had desperately, perhaps dangerously, woken her from the medically induced coma. Saved from the domination of her father, and hidden away to make sure her incomprehensible powers could not be used harm innocents anymore, she had hoped to wake up to better world. But as the luck of her life would have it, she went to sleep to escape one monster, only to be woken up to fight another.

"No, I'm not. But each one of those things is a walking weapon of mass destruction. So I needed one of my own."

He had promised Wanda to keep her safe. To keep other people safe from her. But now she needed to be the one doing the saving. Very few people on the planet could boast the powers to combat such creatures, and only a few of them were on his side.

"Is that what I am Nick? A weapon? To be dusted off in times of need?" Clothed in her red robes once again, Wanda looked back out over the surf, out to where a titan from another world stalked where it did not belong.

"No, you're a human being Wanda." Fury assured her, despite the pain still wracking his body. "A human with incredible power."

He stepped closer to her, the wind whipping her hair in his direction.

"A very brave young man once told me, that with great power, comes great responsibility. Now you and I both have great power, in our own ways, mine just isn't great enough. Not this time."

"Great power? Yes, I suppose you could describe it that way. I've usually thought of it as terrible power, power beyond that which mortals should wield." The iron rule of Magneto had taught her what the very powerful could do, and he had used it to instill fear and breed hatred.

"When my father realized the power I have was greater than his own, what it could do, he told me what my responsibility was."

"And trust me," Fury sighed. "We are all grateful you chose not to use your powers. Right now though, it's your time to step up."

With a long exhale, she took a few steps forward on the sea-washed rocks, letting the cold water lap against her feet.

"I know it is cold… but it feels so good."

As much as his mind was conscious of their dwindling time to bring this monster crisis to a end, he couldn't deny her the simple pleasure, the simple humanity of the moment. He pursed his lips, and let her take in the free air, the taste of salt in the wind, the sensation of the ocean on her skin.

"I will try Nicholas, to do what you have asked, but there are many variables, too many to control with any degree of certainty. But… perhaps if I can… just give him a little push in the right direction."

Opening her hands, and reaching them out beyond the southern horizon, she concentrated, a single image in her mind, a force of willpower. Wanda closed her eyes, concentrating, focusing, stretching her powers out to her known limits and beyond, searching.

She let out a gasp, having found him. Slowly, a crimson energy engulfed her hands, the nimbus growing as it crept around her arms. Her arms waved to the right, then to the left, as if she were moving a gaseous cloud out of her way.

Then her face clenched, and Fury could tell she was exerting her power to effect change, and it wasn't just her.

The water at her feet began to defy gravity and ascend in huge droplets into the air, creating a reverse-waterfall to either side of her. She drew her hands to her chest, folding her fingers closed.

The missing director of SHIELD felt a rumbling, not just in the ground, but in the very particles of air around him.

Wanda shot her hands outward, in a motion that peeled the water away from her, the force of the wave nearly knocking Fury off his feet.

When the water had settled, she opened her eyes and doubled-over, her heart racing and her body worn from the exertion.

"It is done." She told him. "I was afraid of doing anything too complicated, so…"

"You did good Wanda." Striding up and helping her to stand erect. "You did good. Now come on, let's get you out of here before the Brotherhood gets wind you're walking around."

The Brotherhood of Mutants could do enough damage on their own, without the added firepower of a woman who could bend reality and erase whole lives.

The Quinjet was parked not far away, the loading ramp still lowered. Stepping aboard, Fury sat Wanda down on the bench, and went to the cockpit as the ramp locked back into place.

"Ready to go." He told the woman behind the controls.

"And to where are we going?" Natasha Romanov asked.

"Just get in the air and head west. Once we're over land I'll give you a new heading."

Glancing over her shoulder to see Wanda laying down across the seats, Black Widow smiled.

"It's good for her to get some air every now and then."

* * *

 **ATLANTIC OCEAN**

Deep in the cold abyss, moving above a volcanic fissure glowing along the border of tectonic plates, a titan closed his eyes and fell asleep. Drifting every slowly downward towards the molten vein.

When he awoke, Godzilla found himself in a much different place, surrounded by vegetation, the air full of the scents of primitive life and unspoiled wilderness.

But there was another smell carried on the wind. Death.

* * *

 _ **GIGAN AND MOTHRA WILL RETURN.**_


	17. Chapter 17: New York's Finest

**NEW YORK CITY**

A shaky camera feed righted itself to focus on a pretty red-headed woman, who hastily brushed her bangs behind her ears and raised a microphone to her lips. In the background, the midday cityscape.

"This is Patricia Ann Love for Channel Seven News, and behind me-"

" _MRAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!"_

A bestial roar filled the air, followed by a crashing sound of steel and glass.

"Behind me, wages a war for the streets of New York City." Patricia gestured to her camera to follow her, and she strode over to the where the viewer could see they were about to peek over the edge of a building's roof. The camera panned down to record the tumultuous battle.

"See here the Fantastic Four engaged in a fight with some bizarre creature. Police have retreated to establish a perimeter, urging civilians in the area to fall back behind their lines."

Leaping from the side of a building, Orga dodged the stretching arms of Reed Richards, and nearly snatched Johnny Storm out of flight.

"Not even two days after the appearance of the 'Godzilla', a number of other giant monsters have emerged all around the world. This one, which is possibly the nastiest thing to crawl out of a New York City subway in the past week, according to witnesses has actually _eaten_ local hero Spider-Man!"

"That's a bunch'a hooey!"

The camera panned to the right in a blur, where it focused again on a middle-aged man with grey hair and olive colored liver-spotted skin grimaced at the reporter. He stood among a gathering of other bystanders, and she quickly stuck the microphone under his mouth.

"Spider-Man ain't eaten!" He continued to scold, "I seen him take a bus to the face when that _ilíthia malákas_ Rhino fought him."

Patricia eyed the camera warily, "I'm not sure we can say that on TV but, sure, Spider-Man is known for being tougher than he looks. You, Ma'am!"

Stepping over to an elderly woman who wore a knitted shawl and thin-framed glasses, she leaned down to put herself on the same level with the stooped matron.

"Do you think our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is currently digesting in the bowels of that creature?"

"Oh I don't know, I think it's all terrible." The woman shivered, pulling her shawl closer over her shoulders. "We never had all these fights with super-powers and monsters when I was a little girl. I tell you, it's all those damn Democrats in the state leg-"

"Thank you Ma'am." Patricia sputtered, cutting of the woman before things got too dicey. "Let's take another look at ground level shall we?"

The yellow beam of Orga's cannon swept across the street, obliterating a car and 30 yards of storefront. Johnny Storm flew by overhead, strafing the alien with a torrent of fire that set the asphalt alight. Orga bellowed in protest at the annoyance, leaping after The Human Torch, but upon catching a Buick to the gut instead, was knocked back to the road.

"I think you may need to turn up the heat on your dainty little fingers Johnny!" Thing said, throwing his arms around another car. "You're little fireworks ain't doin' nothing' but turning him into a hot-head!"

"Oh great pun, Ben!" Johnny shot back sarcastically, "How many times can you re-work the same insult?"

"Stop quibbling you two!" Susan Richards growled, creating a light barrier to restrain Orga as it tried to get back on its feet. "And focus on getting Spider-Man out of that thing!"

With a strained grunt, Susan pushed on her force-field as she walked, shoving Orga back into a building, pinning him to the side. The monster snarled and raged against the Invisible Woman's power, firing the shoulder canon skywards in a vain act of frustration.

"Reed darling." She growled, "You could help any time now!"

Emerging from the windows of the building, the long limbs of Mr. Fantastic stretched out to wrap themselves around Orga's arms.

"We have to be very careful with this one Sue, if he gets his mouth on any one of us, it could be disastrously interesting."

"WHAT?!" His wife yelled.

Reed's arms and legs continued to coil tighter and tighter, biding Orga in place.

"I just mean to say that, what could arise from some controlled exposure of different genetic information to this creature could provide us with invaluable information in genetic sciences."

Orga leaned his head to the side, attempting to snap his jaws on Reed. All around him was ever more covetous genes to assimilate, impervious skin, fire control, invisibility and force-field projection, elasticity. With these powers, he would finally achieve the mission his race had scoured the universe for.

"Ben! See if you can extricate Spider-Man!" Reed yelled as he stretched his head around to see everything. "But, try not to do it by killing Orga. If you can."

Thing grumbled. "Jeez, Reed." He said, rolling his eyes. He walked over to a streetlight post that had been knocked over in the fight, and bent it in half.

Orga wailed as he exerted, managing to pry himself forward by a few inches. Pinching her eyes shut, Susan began to shake under the strain of her effort.

"I can't hold it for much longer!"

As Thing approached, bearing the folded steel pipe like a baseball bat, Orga faced him, howling to the urge to integrate the cells.

Rearing back with the handmade bludgeon, Ben Grimm scowled. "Ah, quit 'yer bellyaching'!"

With a resounding _SMACK!_ , he smashed the light post against the side of Orga's head, and with a pained cry the monster seemed to calm itself down.

"Alright, now you're give us back our little spider-buddy."

Laying a hand on Orga's stomach, Thing pushed in, hoping to feel for something that could give him a sign. As he pushed, something inside pushed back.

Recoiling slightly from the surprise, he used his other hand to tap on the skin a few times. Somewhere on the opposite side, the number of taps was repeated against the pressed-in hand.

"Oh, I bet it ain't too nice in there. And it ain't about to get no better, kid."

Without any warning, Thing pulled back with his right, and delivered a tremendous body-shot to Orga's midsection that sunk in at least four feet.

The Millennian doubled over from the blow, its mouth wide open as it gasped for breath with a pathetic wheeze.

Sue altered her posture, re-aiming her force-field to hold open Orga's maw.

"Coming in!" Johnny landed next to Thing, and channeled a stream of fire into the monster's torso. When Orga sucking in air to scream, Sue pushed her construct deeper down his throat, opening his gullet.

Reed maneuvered his head precariously into the darkness of the alien esophagus.

"Fascinating…" He remarked, eying the ring of flesh that served as the sphincter to the rest of the digestive system. He dare not go past where his wife's power held back Orga's mouth, thinking that even momentary contact could allow it to copy genetic material. In front of him was not an esophagus familiar to an earthling, but a writing mass of convulsing knobby protrusions that the throat emptied into.

"Spider-Man!" He called out. "Spider-Man can you hear me?"

It wasn't a voice that answered him, but a red gloved hand surging through from between folds in the quivering surface, covered in a syrupy pale green liquid. Without any hesitation Reed stretched his head towards it, letting the fingers grip into his malleable tissue. Contracting the neck, Richards yanked and pulled until he felt Spider-Man slipping through to the open space, flailing and scrambling once his limbs were free.

Spider-Man sucked in deep breaths as he crawled his way out of the mouth, throwing himself recklessly to the ground in a mad scurry.

"You okay Spider-Man?" A stunned Johnny Storm asked, he and Thing standing over him.

Parker held up a single finger as he took a few more moments to breath and collect himself. He rolled over onto his left side, pulled his mask from over his mouth, and vomited.

"Ugh…[ _spit_ ] Did you guys really have to hit him in the stomach so many times? I was in there you know."

Mr. Fantastic began to wonder about what occurred. "Intriguing… Orga shows no sign of having assimilated any of Spider-Man's abilities. I'll have to get a closer look at what exactly his costume is made of."

Out of the corner of her eye, Susan saw the alien stir, "REED! LOOK OUT!"

In a surge of motion, Orga pushed himself backwards into the building, escaping her hold on its mouth, and dragging Reed with him. The two of them disappeared in a cloud of chaos and wreckage as the stories collapsed on top of them.

"A shocking turn of events here in Manhattan." Patricia narrated from her position atop an adjacent building. "Spider-Man is in fact alive-"

"Told you!" a familiar voice called out.

"And now the monster and Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards have been crushed under the weight of several tons of office floor. Right now I'd like to ask one of our city's more famous residents what he thinks of what he's just seen. Taking refuge with us, is celebrity comedian and actor, Jerry Seinfeld."

Patricia posed the microphone to the slightly befuddled actor, who caught off guard, glanced between her and the camera for a few seconds.

"What do I think? I think I'm a little tired of seeing my city get torn apart by super-villains and giant monsters! I mean, what's the deal with these giant monsters?! I glad Spider-Man's alive and all, but something has to be done about all this destruction!"

"YEAH!" Several of the other refugees cried in support.

Grabbing the microphone, Jerry continued on in frustration: "And while I'm at it, what's the deal with these parking restrictions and property tax hikes?!"

"Yeah!" The crowd repeated.

The angry rant was interrupted by a long and sorrowful moan. Camera and audience were again taken over the edge.

"I don't like the sound of that!" A worried Human Torch said, backing away from the rubble pile.

"Just keep digging!" His sister reprimanded him, using her powers to lift and toss steel beams and chunks of concrete. "We both know Reed couldn't have been hurt, I'm more worried about getting that creature under control."

Hefting a section of wall aside, Thing scoffed. "I think having a building fall on his head did the job pretty good Suzie."

"I wouldn't be so certain about that." Sitting on a curb and holding his arm, Spider-Man shook his head cautiously. "That thing took some pretty bad lumps before you got here. Wilson's got one of those 'Wolverine-y' healing factor gimmicks."

"Wilson?" Johnny asked. "Like the volleyball from _Cast Away_?"

"Like the Kingpin. He's got a big appetite."

The rubble heaved, causing Sue and Ben to step back. Then a stream of yellow energy burst through, sending debris flying. Sue created a shield to protect herself and Johnny, Thing just put a forearm across his face.

"Yup." Spider-Man mumbled, "Wilson's doing just fine."

Orga's hand erupted from the wreckage and came down with a thud, clawing out of the heap. When its body appeared, they were surprised to see Reed wrapped around the mouth, keeping its shut while the monster picked at him to pry him off.

"I think… I think it must have been Spider-Man's suit! Orga needs direct skin-to-skin contact to absorb the genes!"

A wretched cry was all the Millennian could manage to squeak out before the coils tightened.

"Great to know Reed!" Johnny congratulated, "Any ideas on how we beat it?"

"I got a few!" Running up the pile, Thing seized the hand, using all his strength to haul Orga out of the hole and fling the alien down the avenue.

"How 'bout I start the clock on Clobberin' Time!"

Susan fell in behind Ben Grimm as he went after the monster. "If you overexert its healing factor, I think you could render him inert long enough for us to incapacitate him!"

Gliding beside them both, Johnny smirked. "Ben, I think that's science talk for: 'beat him to a pulp'."

"I'mma shove you down his throat, matchstick!" A surly Thing barked.

Orga planted his claws into the street, facing the oncoming foes, and fired his shoulder cannon. Susan dove to the side and disappeared, Thing bore his shoulder into the blast, driving forward one step at a time.

Reed quickly analyzed the situation, "Johnny! Hit him from the side!"

Johnny dove at an angle, "Hot stuff coming through!" He came into Orga's left flank and poured on a torrent of fire so scorching the asphalt underneath melted. Skin blistered and seared despite the regeneration, eliciting a screech of agony and a reflexive move to put his back to the flame.

Spider-Man, who kept himself at a distance, watched the combined attack unfold. He saw Thing capitalize on the opening and ram his body into Orga's injured side, knocking it over onto its back. Reed extended his arms and legs to wrap around the monster's wrists, arresting them together.

"Now they're just torturing that thing." He said, shaking his head. "Just because it regenerates doesn't mean it doesn't feel pain."

Orga tried to leap away from them, but Susan reappeared on one of her construct disks, and snatched him out of the air. Plummeting to the street, the alien was still bound when it landed on its back, breaking into the sewer line below.

"Poor fella heals almost as fast as they hurt it, they could be at this for hours. There's gotta be a better way."

As the monster thrashed in the sinkhole, particles of golden energy began to coalesce in the shoulder pocket. Before it got the chance to fire however, Susan formed a light construct in the breech to block the discharge.

Orga's shoulder exploded in a shower of blood and bits of extraterrestrial meat. Whimpering and twitching, he resistance failed him and he wilted into quiet submission. With the alien beast slumped onto its face in defeat, Reed disentangled himself and joined his family as they approached.

"I've synthesized some Secondary Adamantium in the lab, I have enough to forge some restraints, but it'll take me at least an hour."

"Get cracking on it then Stretch." Thing said, pointing to the monster. "'Cause he's starting to patch himself up."

The blown-out wound was already morphing and re-solidifying, forming topical dermis. The loss of mass however, meant that the waning influence of Hulk's regeneration couldn't restore the shoulder cannon. With a weak moan, Orga opened his mouth slightly, letting the organ that dwelled in his throat bloom and unfold like a deflated balloon.

"He's desperate." Sue remarked, listing to the pained cries and heavy breathing. "His regeneration is overtaxed and he doesn't have the material to compensate."

Spider-Man walked in between them to crouch down and take a long look at the wheezing monster.

"A creature that absorbs genetic material of native species… that means either its own genetic structure is unstable, or it can't survive on our planet without adapting our traits."

"A good working theory Spider-Man." Reed commended. "We'll have to find a way to contain him safely enough to conduct observations. Maybe you'd like to help me with that?"

"Really?" Peter Parker exclaimed under his mask, "That would be amazing!"

Johnny laid a hand on Spidy's shoulder. "Just be prepared for Reed to forget you're even there five minutes after you arrive."

Susan stifled a chuckle, while her husband made a confused grimace.

"So what do you want us to do with him in the mean time?" Thing asked.

"We just make sure he doesn't escape. I don't think he's got much of a fight left in him at this point." The Fantasticar hovered over to where the group stood, and Reed reached up to extract his translucent tablet device from his compartment, entering a few commands. "I'm getting the process started now, but like I said it'll take a little bit."

"Sweet!" That gives me time for a little public relations!" Jetting off, Johnny made his way to the top of a building where a group of citizens were assembled.

"Johnny Storm!" Patricia called out, dashing over to him as the camera focused on his approach.

"The Fantastic Four has saved New York once again, and probably saved the life of your fellow super-hero, what do you have to say?"

Pretending to consider the question, Storm put his hands on his hips and looked off in the distance. "Well it's a tough job, and somebody has to get it done. With SHIELD still recovering from Godzilla, the Avengers and X-Men out fighting their own battles, you can bet that the Human Torch and the rest of the Fantastic Four are here to look out for New York City."

"And Spider-Man!" A voice from the audience called out.

"Yup, and Spider-Man too, great guy, heart of the city."

Patricia nodded her head. "So Mr. Storm, what do the Fantastic Four plan to do with the creature, now that you've defeated it? And does it have anything to do with the other monsters?"

"Well…." Johnny stalled, rolling his eyes. "For starters its name is actually 'Orga', weird, I know. And uh… For the time being we'll get it safely contained and try to figure out what exactly we're dealing with."

"Uh-huh, and what about its relationship to Godzilla and the others?"

"Listen, there's some stuff that I'm not sure I should be spilling the beans on, and-"

"What aren't you telling us Johnny Storm?" The camera whirled around, and saw Seinfeld standing in front of the other spectators. "What don't you want us to know about these monsters tearing our city apart?"

Johnny began to raise his palms defensively, but after a moment realized who it was.

"Jerry Seinfeld? What are you doing here?"

The screech of tires on the street roused the attention of the heroes, Reed and the others turning to see Armored Personnel Carriers of the United States Army rolling into position around them.

"What's with all this?" Sue wondered.

Reed pursed his lips. "SHIELD has been crippled. DoD must be stepping in to fill the shoes."

"Hey, I've seen that logo before." Spider-Man pointed to a graphic on the side of one of the APC's, the insignia of the Hulk-Busters.

The rear door unfolded, and Major General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross stepped out, dressed in ACU fatigues and a MOLLE load bearing vest. His crisp and stiff patrol cap bearing down on his stern face.

"What can we do for you General?" Reed asked as the man approached, soldiers behind him scurrying to establish their own security. The two of them weren't on the best of terms, the stereotypical conflict between a thinker and a fighter. Morso however, was the incident when the Fantastic Four had taken in Bruce Banner and refused to hand him over to Ross' unit. The intervention of SHIELD preventing the Baxter Building from becoming a combat zone.

"You can start by getting your rubber-ass out of the way of my men." The General huffed. "The Department of Defense has been given authority to assume tactical command of the region in the absence of SHIELD. As such, my unit is specialized to deal with threats like this, and we've been tasked with capturing and containing this ugly bastard."

"I'm afraid you're a little late to the party General." Susan growled, leaning next to Reed. "We've got that covered."

"And the Army thanks you for all your hard work, but we'll be taking it from here." Ross put his hand in the air and waved it in a circle, "Let's get that crane in here!" He yelled to a section of his troops. "And send in the Deacon boys!"

"With due respect to your men, Ross, I don't think you're equipped for this." Mr. Fantastic took a step forward, "It took the five of us to subdue Orga. You really should let us-"

"Don't mistake the situation you're in Richards." Ross said, leveling a finger at Reed's chest. "I have lawful jurisdiction here, so if I think you're hindering my operation in any way, I'll come down on you harder than that building you freaks dropped."

As Ross and the Richards continued to talk, Spider-Man and Thing watched on.

"Why's that General guy such a head case?"

"Eh, he's been a bitter crank ever since he started chasing the Hulk around." Thing explained. "Obsessed with turning Banner into a weapon, always comes up short."

Glancing around, Spider-Man noted the array of scientific teams that poured out of the armored vehicles.

"Now what would the Army even do with something like Orga?" He wondered to himself.

A massive dump truck backed down the street, aided by a man on the ground to help guide it. A pair of cranes also entered the perimeter, chain harnesses dangling from their hooks, with links as thick as Parker's bicep.

"I hope these guys know what they're getting themselves into."

Breaking away from the conversation, Reed put a hand across his chin both to think and calm his blood. His wife trailed him, leaving Ross alone to supervise his men.

"What are we going to do? That idiot can't contain the Hulk, and he sure as hell can't contain that thing."

"There's not a whole lot we can do Susan, Ross has the legal authority to take Orga into his custody. Like it or not, we're just civilians."

"Maybe we can get Captain Rogers to do something." She suggested. "He's the acting head of SHIELD, he'd be on our side."

"True, but he must have a thousand things to concern himself with right now, I doubt he'd be interested in a jurisdiction dispute with Ross and the DoD that he doesn't need to have."

The soldiers worked quickly as the chains were lowered into place, attaching them around the wrists, ankles and neck. Several buckets of a shiny grey adhesive were poured onto the area that had been the shoulder cannon, solidifying to halt any further regeneration of the weapon.

Working in tandem, the cranes lifted the body as the dump truck backed into place below.

"Be careful with that thing!" Ross yelled. "We don't want it banged-up any more than it already is!"

"General Ross! General Ross!"

A commotion came from the perimeter, where a news reporter, her camera-man, and a throng of civilians had gathered to gawk at the work being done. The red head with the microphone singled out the General and started yelling in his direction.

"Aw hell." Ross snarled. "If there's one thing I hate more than these spandex-wearing freaks, it's the god-damn media!"

"Care to comment on the superhero community's global effort to combat the monsters?" Patricia asked.

"Yeah!" He hollered from where he stood. "Don't quit your day jobs!"

"Harsh words from General 'Thunderbolt' Ross." She said to the camera. "A man known for his antipathy towards superheroes, and the Hulk in particular."

Thaddeus took off his cap and beat it against his thigh. "Christ Almighty." He grumbled. "Somebody get that crowd back!"

Two soldiers moved in on Patricia and herded her and the others farther back despite their protests.

The cranes came to a halt as Orga was positioned above the bed of the truck, a coordinated effort of men on the ground directed the process.

"Think they'll turn him into dog food?" Johnny Storm asked, landing next to Spider-Man and Thing.

"Naw." Spidey said, "Even dogs know not to eat stuff like that."

Crossing his arms, Thing smirked. "You'd think that wouldn't cha. But I had a dog when I was a kid, tried to eat everything it could. Sometimes twice if you know what I mean."

"Eww."

A clanking of the chains drew everyone's attention up to where Orga was wriggling in the harnesses, barking and wailing

"Everybody just stay calm!" Ross ordered.

The chain that held Orga's right arm snapped, the length of it swinging down and sending several men diving out of the way.

Spider-Man stuck his working arm out, shooting a web line that stuck to three men, giving them a hard yank out of harm's way. Thing managed to get his hands on the wild end of the chain, keeping it from striking out as the monster struggled.

"A'right! Settle down you!"

The neck of one of the cranes groaned, the steel bending under the weight of the violent thrashing. Orga reached back with his free hand, grabbed the other crane, and wrenched it of balance.

Susan rushed forward to create a construct to keep the machine from toppling over, as the tug-of-war between Thing and Orga got rowdier. The dozens of soldiers took firing positions, and truck-mounted machineguns turned on the alien. Civilian onlookers aimed their cameras to capture every second of it.

"Spider-Man, see if you can re-enforce the damaged crane!" Reed stretched himself up to aide his wife stabilize the tilted one. Wrapping his arms around the boom, he tied off his legs to an APC vehicle and pulled.

Having a much harder time with his task, Spider-Man gripped the spine of the boom and tried to keep it from snapping.

"Sure, send the one armed guy to do heavy lifting!"

The second crane came back down on its stabilizer legs with a jarring thud. Temporary slacked, the chains jerked on the hoist line of the damaged one, and it defied Spider-Man's attempt to keep it up. "Look out below!"

"Uh-crap." Thing muttered, watching as Orga descended a few feet and the free chain became wrapped around one of its fingers. With a curl of its arm, Orga yanked Thing upwards, and caught him with its mouth. Thing was able to put his hands on the outside to brace himself from going in further, but his head and most of his shoulders were now in the clutches of the grasping pink organ.

Johnny flew up to Orga's head and began blasting it with flames. "Stop eating my friend!"

"Susan, a hand!" This wasn't the first time Ben Grimm had found his rocky self in the maw of some alien creature, and the team had a practiced technique for dealing with it. Reed maneuvered himself over the top of Orga, and coiled his arms around Thing's waist, and finding another anchor in the rear axle of the dump-truck, tried to free Ben. Susan likewise encircled her power onto Thing's legs, and put her own effort into the rescue.

A barrage of firepower also began to pepper Orga's grey hide, but as seconds passed, and more of The Things' durability was copied, the rounds simply ricocheted off.

"Chaos in Manhattan today!" Patricia said into her microphone as she and the camera took cover behind a concrete corner, the scope just wide enough to record the scene. A few reflected bullets pinging off the wall.

"After the victory of the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man over a monster now known as 'Orga', Military units had arrived to take control of the scene, only for a single mishap to throw everything into a disaster! The creature now appears to be attempting to consume the Thing, while the rest valiantly try to free him!"

She dared a peek around the corner, and witnessed the transformative effect of the alien's ability.

"It um… It now uh… Whatever this Orga animal is, it seems to be replicating the famously tough skin of Ben Grimm. No doubt sucking on him like the world's grumpiest jawbreaker."

With a _SCHLOCKING_ sound, the Richards finally wrested Thing from the alien's mouth, the three of them falling back in a heap.

"AIR UNITS MOVE IN!" Ross screamed into the radio on his shoulder. "Prepare to engage!"

An invigorated Orga bellowed in rapacious savagery, the damaged crane boom finally giving way and dropping him in a tangle of chain and twisted metal. Orga reached out to swipe at a stumbling soldier, only for Spider-Man to put an arm around the man's chest and leap away with him.

Gunships, designed to battle the Incredible Hulk, banked around a city block and brought the monster into their sights. The three of them gave each other some space, and opened fire with a combined attack of large caliber rounds and guided missiles.

Reed covered his wife under his malleable flesh, shrapnel raining into it as the rounds bit off chinks of asphalt and steel. After the initial barrage, they retreated to better cover behind one of the armored vehicles

"I didn't think he'd recover this quickly!" Reed said.

Susan threw-up a shield to deflect a portion of the shrapnel being ejected from the fight. "How are we going to stop it now?"

The explosives struck Orga and everything around him, severing the other chains. His hide sparked with hundreds of bullets, but none of them penetrated his newly armored skin. Swallowing the membrane back into his throat, the Millennian strode forward as two rockets slammed into his chest and burst to minimal effect.

The helicopters jockeyed to stay in position, pouring their ammunition into the creature's front.

"HA! Look at that!" Tucking his M-4 into his shoulder and squeezing off a few rounds, General Ross looked on happily as his air units unleashed hell on the alien. "Good old fashioned American firepower."

Orga's growling and salivating face glared at his surrounding attackers, seeing through the machines to inspect the pilots, finding nothing worth assimilating. Grasping the fallen crane, he hurled it in between them, causing them to scatter sideways. One helicopter was separated from the other two, and it was this one that Orga seized on, bounding towards it through the air.

As skilled as the gunner was, putting every round he could into the oncoming monster, it wasn't enough to prevent Orga from grappling the craft in its hands and taking it down. The helicopter was spiked on the ground, rupturing the frame and fuel tanks, the men's screams drowned out in the explosion. Another salvo of machinegun fire sparked off his back, the remaining Hulkbuster units finally rallying to establish a line of fire.

Posting a 240B machine gun on the hood of a maroon civilian car, General Ross crushed a stogie between his teeth before yelling a series of commands into his radio and loosing a few iterations of controlled bursts.

"DEPLOY MECHA UNITS GODAMMIT! THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!"

A large specially designed armored flatbed truck took a left turn around a corner, the tires of the same side nearly coming off the road. On the platform, were three 10-foot tall mecha suits, armed to the hilt. Desert tan, armor plating like a tank, and manually controlled by a pilot inside, these were built to fight the Hulk in hand-to-hand combat. Bearing enough firepower to conquer most small nations, and capable of reacting to the pilot's movement in real-time, they sped towards the fight as the team members climbed into their seats.

An enormous hand swatted the burning wreckage of the helicopter in the direction of an APC with two MK19 grenade launchers mounted on top, sending the gunners scrambling for cover inside the vehicle. Orga was turning to attack the remaining gunships when a slab of concrete was broken over his head.

"You like the taste of rocks huh?" Thing roared, picking-up another chunk of masonry debris. "Then why don't you suck on this ya big palooka!"

Just as Orga lunged to attack him, Thing shoved the jagged boulder in its mouth, stunning the creature momentarily.

"Ya come inta' my town!" A right cross into Orga's eye socket, staggering it back.

"Ya' wreck my neighborhood!" A left cross to the jaw.

"Ya' try to eat my friends!" Right uppercut.

"And ya' try to eat me!" Double-hammer fist across the teeth.

"You come onto the wrong side a town pal!"

Thing charged forward, tackling the monster and driving it back into a tram support pillar, nearly knocking it out. Grimm followed it up with a series of body shots that thundered out like a piled river going through granite. In response, Orga clubbed him in the back with one of his hands, buckling Thing's knees.

It was good that he did, as a barrage of explosions erupted across the alien's body. A dozen High Explosive shells struck Orga virtually at once, thrusting him through the support pillar and tumbling rearward.

The three Hulkbuster mechas continued their approach, the cannons on their arms leveled. Loaded into their arsenal, were miniature artillery shells, small conical fuses in the front that initiated the primer in the body. Inside they were designed to channel the explosion forward, a copper plate just behind the fuse superheated and shaped to penetrate several layers of steel.

"God bless those boys." Ross muttered, striding past Spider-Man and the Richards as they winced at the alien cries.

One round after another pummeled Orga, the canisters ejecting from a port on the underside, the rest being fed into the chamber via the belt that lined the elbow and triceps of the suits. The monster was overwhelmed at first, the shots blowing pits into his flesh, the regeneration and acquired durability doing all it could to keep him from being torn apart.

He slammed both his fists into the ground, the wave rolled under the mechas who went unfazed as the shock absorbers in the legs compressed and expanded.

Under the hail of the destructive projectiles, his instincts told him to flee, to seek shelter and survive for another day. But something in the back of his mind, something primal yet not his own sparked, refusing to be silent. The spark became a flare, burning brighter the longer the humans continued to attack. It kept repeating the same thought over and over again, the opposite of what his mutilated consciousness told him was the best way to continue surviving.

It told him to fight, it told him to go through his enemies, it cried out for war.

Glaring at Man's machines, he listened to that call. With a roar of renewed defiance, Orga charged at the belligerent exosuits, swatting one aside before the others dove out of the way. The lone suit somersaulted back and onto its feet, only to find a hand close around it with a crushing grip. Like a child in a tantrum, Orga smashed it against the ground again and again before tossing it to its teammates.

As the war between flesh and machine raged, mankind watched on. Looking down at his broken hand, Spider-Man thought hard about what he was about to do.

"This has gone on long enough." He turned to the others, "I've got a plan, but it'll take all of us. General Ross, can the suits self-destruct?"

Ross narrowed his eyes for a moment, thinking over how much information to divulge to a masked civilian. But then again, this was Spider-Man after all.

"In case any foreign agents like HYDRA or the Chi-Coms ever got their hands on them, yeah, we can blow 'em. Why?"

"Because I think we're going about this the hard way."

"Are you suggesting we apply Ockham's Razor?" Reed asked.

Spider-Man smirked under his mask. "Something like that, but more like: 'Godzilla's Razor'."

The two mecha suits were in retreat, continuing to fire as they backpedaled. Orga, turned his face away for a moment, his throat undulating to a sickening gurgling noise. When he whipped around, he spat a glob of sicky green goo onto one of the suits, coating it from head to toe. The slime immediately began to eat its way through the armor, the pilot inside frantically trying to get the emergency eject button to work.

The second pilot, taken off guard by the new attack hesitated when he glanced over to his comrade. Taking the opportunity, Orga slammed his knuckles to the ground and swung his legs forward, dropkicking both of them across the street.

Landing next to the exosuit that Orga had savaged, Spider-Man looked into the small window to see the unconscious pilot with his head lolled to the side.

"Thing! Help me get him out!"

"I got'cha kid." Thing gripped around the seam of the pilot cab, exploiting the already damaged armor to peel it open enough for Spider-Man to grab the man from inside and slide him out.

Millennian drool fell in ribbons to the asphalt, the mix of the green slime in the viscous fluid creating pot holes as it burned.

"You think your stuff is hot?" Behind Orga, Johnny Storm hovered in place. "Let me show you how it's done!"

Hugging himself onto the monster's back, Johnny amplified his flame, covering Orga's entire back in a blanket of intense fire. The massive claws failing to be able to reach him, Orga thrashed madly as his skin blackened and crackled.

When the APC crashed into Orga's left side, the alien never saw it coming, Ross jumping out of the driver's seat a second before impact. The vehicle slammed into the leg and bent itself around with the momentum.

Coming over the side of the truck, Reed wrapped around Orga's arms to pin him against the vehicle. "Get clear Johnny!" He yelled, giving his brother-in-law enough time to avoid being squished in between.

A feral bellow protested his restraint, but like before, the elasticity of Mr. Fantastic was able to keep Orga in place. The cry was cut off into a sharp cough however when his mouth was stuck open, unable to close.

Susan Richards concentrated her powers on forming a ring around the inside of Orga's jaws, growing it as the lips separated evermore. Finally, the mouth was pried open to its hilt, the membrane folding out like a muscle reflex.

"Do it now Ben!"

With the damaged Hulkbuster suit over his shoulder, Ben Grimm felt like he was back in his old football days, dashing into the enemy territory like a fullback.

"Chew on this!" He barked, using both hands to dunk the suit right down Orga's throat.

The exosuit disappeared down into the belly of the beast, earning a confused and startled grumble.

Swinging in from above, Spider-Man landed on Orga's head, detaching the web cartridge from his right wrist. He tossed it next to the writing tongue, where it landed in a puddle of the acidic saliva.

"Let it go Sue!" Spidey called out, casting a web-line and slinging himself away.

Closing her hands with a snap, her light construct dissolved and Orga's mouth folded back down. A moment later after, a small explosion went off in his mouth and the entire orifice was clogged with the webbing material.

Orga tried to regurgitate the machine from his gut, but found it and his screams blocked by the adhesive.

Holding out a hand sized transmitter device, General Ross entered a number code, and pressed his right thumb onto a small digital panel.

"Thanks for the test run." He smiled, pushing a square red button in the top right of the interface.

As the mecha suit roiled around inside the monster, a series of alarm chimes began to go off, the power core accepting the self-destruct command.

Orga's eyes opened wide in terrifying remembrance.

The top of Orga's body was obliterated in an instant, blasting bits of grey scale and purple tissue in a billion directions. Reed retracted himself from the corpse, being spared any damage. The body wavered for a few moments before falling forward, a slurry of organs and bodily fluids spilling out, much to the disgust of all who saw.

They all let a few moments pass before speaking, some of the soldiers swarming over the mecha suits to help the pilots out.

Fixing Ross with a hard stare, Susan poked a finger into his shoulder. "Since I doubt you'll be destroying the remains, my advice is that you keep them in separate containers, and at a low temperature to inhibit any regeneration."

"I'll do that." He grumbled, giving her a slight but respectful nod.

Sitting on a chunk of concrete with rebar sticking out of it, Spider-Man held his right arm to his chest, using his remaining webbing to create a hasty sling.

"From your reputation, I'd say you have an accelerated healing factor." Coming to a stop just beside Spidey, Reed knelt down to take a closer look at a ragged hunk of alien flesh about the size of a grapefruit that had landed a few feet away.

"Yeah. Nothing like super fast like Wolverine, but I'll be alright."

"My invitation was serious Spider-Man, come by the Baxter Building, and maybe we can work on improving your web formula or the spinneret devices." Taking a hold of the flesh chunk, he quickly covered it with his hand and put it behind his back.

"Plus I'd like to get some fresh eyes on a few projects.

"Sounds great Mr. Richards." Grunting as he got up, Parker stretched his back. "Right now though, I really gotta get home, take a shower, and spend the next week washing this uniform.

"Because you're thinking it might carry some alien bacteria?"

"Because it was really smelly and gross inside that thing's belly."

"Ready to get home Ben?" Johnny asked Thing as they walked away from the scene.

"Yeah, it's Sunday and- wait… Ahhh crap! I'm missing the Knicks game!"

With a sigh, Johnny put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know we live in a house of futuristic technology right? We can record shows off the TV?"

Seeing his men fast at work securing the site, collecting the alien's remains, and aiding their wounded, Ross stepped around the back of the APC that lay on its side and took a satellite phone from his cargo pocket. Dialing a number, he waited until the ringing gave way to a scrambled voice that spoke only: "Go Ahead."

"Tells the lab-jockeys back at the base we've got one of the monsters. The one that my SHIELD contact says defeated Hulk. It's mostly intact and probably dead, but something tells me they'll have more than enough to-"

A number of surprised voices cried out, alerting Ross to peek around the corner, and see his men dashing back from Orga's remains. The alien body dissolving into a black powder and falling apart like sand.

General Ross clenched his teeth at the sight, his face turning red as it contorted into a twitching sneer.

"The battle is finally over." Patricia Love said into the camera. Standing behind the perimeter of the arriving first responders, the picture featured her to the right side, the background showing the destruction littering the streets.

"The monster known as Orga has been defeated by the combined efforts of The Fantastic Four, General Ross' anti-Hulk unit, and local hero Spider-Man. Any connection to Godzilla, or the other giant monsters has not been made known to the public, and speculation abounds as to their true origin.

For now however, let's just hope that the crisis in Connecticut can… be…"

Patricia's last few words trailed off, the woman staring at something beyond. The camera feed jostled, and the sound of people running and talking excitedly could be heard as a pair of brown shoes made their way over to a railing that overlooked the bay.

Off picture, Patricia spoke with astonishment. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not sure how well the camera is seeing this, but something has just appeared over the harbor!"

Hundreds of onlookers rushed to the railings, pointing out the glowing mass of colorful lights that shimmered above the water.

"A strange light phenomena has formed above the water, we're not sure what it- oh my god!"

The crowds screamed when a huge, metallic clawed foot stepped out of the lights, and into the water that came up to its shin. The screams rose into a panicked clamor as the rest of Kiryu entered the world, holding a small aircraft in its hand.

The portal closed behind him.

* * *

 _Thanks for coming around for part 17 of WORLDS COLLIDE!. the book is winding down, with only a few chapters left! I hope you'll all stick around after for the many following stories. And don't forget to check out my DeviantArt page for a ton of cool cover art and other stuff for the G|M saga, search for "rmc1618", and go for my "Whole Godzilla vs Marvel material" gallery.  
_

 ** _Next_ _Time:_** The Battle of Westchester is underway as the diabolical SpaceGodzilla threatens to level the city! What will he do when confronted by the ghost in the machine, and Jean Grey's fury?


	18. Chapter 18: Battle of Westchester

_**Hey all you faithful readers! Glad to have you back as the story continues. Firstly, if you want to leave a comment afterwards, but don't have a FanFiction account, then I can't reply to it because the site has nowhere to deliver the message. So get an account so I can respond to you!**_

 _ **Secondly, I have finished writing the last chapter of WORLDS COLLIDE! All that remain between you and them are third draft revisions and the editor Tarbtano. So expect this epic story to conclude this winter! I'll also be taking your votes on which of five stories will follow WORLDS COLLIDE when I post the final chapter. Plus, I'll also be posting the un-edited 1st draft of WC from 2010!**_

 _ **So without further ado, we rejoin the story in progress...**_

 **WESTCHESTER, CONNECTICUT**

The war on SpaceGodzilla continued to rage.

A progeny of a black hole and unknown cosmic elements, the alien monstrosity wailed as the world around him was saturated in explosions, smoke, and fire. A forest of crystal spires surrounded him, shielded him, empowered him as they drew strength from the earth and sun itself. His piercing cry broke through the bombardment, a squadron of planes overhead releasing their ordinance to create a hellstorm of destruction. Another flock of streaking laser-guided missiles swooped in from out of sight, impacting the refracted translucent barrier and bursting into flames.

"Go for another round?" One of the young jet pilots asked, her voice betraying her excitement. "He looks like he could take it."

"That is a negative." The wing commander responded. "I just got word that some UAV's are gonna make a run on that thing. And we don't wanna be in the field of fire. Maybe next time Warbird."

"Aww." The woman complained.

Red-ringed pupils tracked the fleeing fighter squadron, timing the retaliation. With a pulse of his mind, the tallest of the crystal spires cast a white bolt into the group, striking one of the jets in a brilliant inferno. As the debris fell out of the sky, he had already started to focus in on one of the other jets when a new assault began.

Far above, unmanned drones released their payloads, attempting to circumvent his crystal shield by dropping their munitions straight down. But their presence did not go unnoticed. Eyes that pierced the vastness of space, gazed into stars, nebulae, and quasars fixed in on the soaring craft, seeing their plummeting missiles. His cranial horn flashed, and a streaking, twisting torrent of cosmic wrath shot out from his maw. The Corona Beam worked its way among the projectiles like a game of connect the dots, contorting like a writhing serpent to intercept one after another.

Finally, the drones themselves fell prey to the orange bolt, exploding them so fast it was almost in unison. Seeing his work done, the SpaceGodzilla growled menacingly.

"Godammit!" Air Force Colonel Glenn Talbot slammed his fist on the table, the big screen at the front of the room fizzing through a blizzard of static. The other Air Force personnel in the room went quiet, taking in the fact that the monster from another universe was virtually untouchable. The data on the monster provided by the Fantastic Four had been enlightening, even if it hadn't been very useful for a means to defeat it.

"SpaceGodzilla…" Talbot spat. "Who the hell came up with that name?"

The live satellite feed reappeared on the monitor, it showed a bird's eye view of the monster in the center of a battlefield, explosions going off all around him. Talbot lowered his head down to the desktop and placed his forehead in his hands, massaging his fingers through the short hair. With SHIELD doing all it could to muster the coordination just to keep its normal operations going while dealing with a national and global crisis, the US military was picking up the slack in fighting the monsters. The Avengers were far-flung, the X-Men either hiding under the rubble of their mansion or fighting in China, and the Fantastic Four were engaging another of the invasive monsters in New York.

With no help seeming to come from the super-heroes, Talbot felt he could do little more than keep the SpaceGodzilla occupied enough to prevent it from leveling a major city until permission came down from higher to deploy munitions of greater magnitude on populated US soil.

A series of explosions went off on the screen, and a number of the crystal spires collapsed and fell to the ground. Talbot looked up, watching something manage to achieve a measure of success.

"Must be those artillery boys on the hill." He mused, thinking of the several batteries of regular Army and National Guard artillery units deployed from the surrounding states, firing from their positions several thousand meters away.

"What I wouldn't give for my own team of super-freaks." As proud as he was of his service and the power of the military, there was no ignoring the fact that a small group like the X-Men could do as much damage as a battalion of soldiers. The carnage wrought by the Brotherhood of Mutants proved that.

"Sir…" A timid voice from a female lieutenant drew his attention. She was pointing to one of the smaller sat-feeds. "You need to see this."

Narrowing his gaze, at first he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. It looked like some kind of animatronic dinosaur without the rubber skin, but it was rocketing through the sky. Moreso, he could tell that the size of it was massive.

"The hell is that thing?" He asked rhetorically.

"Sir!" Another officer called out, a pair of headphones over his ears. "It's broadcasting!"

"Put it up!" Talbot ordered.

Entering a few commands, the audio feed was routed to the room's speakers.

 _"This is Dr. Henry McCoy, member of the X-Men. I am piloting a mechanized weapons platform specifically designed to combat large monsters. I am asking the US military not to shoot me out of the sky, and allow me to engage the SpaceGodzilla."_

The news was more than surprising to Colonel Talbot, it was downright welcome.

"What's his trajectory?"

"On dead course for the SpacaGodzilla sir." Answered the female lieutenant. "Estimated intercept in 10 minutes."

"Well hell…" He said, rubbing a contemplative hand over his jaw. "Clear the man a path."

The subordinates went to work coordinating out to the various units in the region, instructing them to let pass the flying metal monster.

"A beast, in a machine, fighting a space monster." Talbot chuckled before letting out a sigh. "What could go wrong…"

 **KIRYU**

"Oh, my stars and garters…" The words slipped from Beast's lips as he watched the footage of his home being destroyed.

Minutes after slipping out of the portal in New York, he had reconfigured the internal monitors to receive signals from outside. He presumed that surely, the path of such a destructive creature as Godzilla would be well documented. What he saw on the various news broadcasts, however, was something orders of magnitude worse than what he had expected. Not only was a rogue Godzilla on the loose, the entire planet was under siege by extraterrestrial behemoths.

Henry watched a video of his friends Scott, Kitty, Kurt, and Janet Van Dyne running for their lives from the footfalls of the cybernetic titan in China. A city-crushing mercenary let loose and heroically opposed by a small band of mutants. Cyclops he viewed as a brother, Kitty and Nightcrawler young enough to be his children. While his heart pained to see them in danger, he knew well enough that they had what it takes to make it through this ordeal.

The powerful city-state of Wakanda was now under the thrall of a Galactus-level monster, one that had wiped civilizations more advanced than Earth from existence and left whole star systems dead. The very presence of the celestial destroyer whose name was terror incarnate posed a threat not just to life on Earth, but life throughout the universe. It was fortunate that a god was battling the creature on their behalf.

Stunningly enough, just as Beast had been returning to his world, the heroes of New York had finished putting down another alien menace, one that wanted to assimilate life instead of destroying it. But its voracious attempt to go native was not without conflict, and after a media spectacle was finally

stopped.

Now his own home, his family, was the target of a horrific attack by the arguably more destructive, malevolent twin of Godzilla. The kaiju files he'd reviewed told him of a creature with the capability to conquer a planet and terraform it to conduct energy for his consumption. Xavier's school rent asunder and burning, likely the collateral damage of an air bombing campaign. His adoptive family buried under the ruins.

Watching the video collage, the footage of Godzilla himself destroying SHIELD, the dragon slaying St. George, regret washed over him. All of this horror, this destruction and death, all of this was the result of the work of his hands. He, Tony Stark, and Reed Richards had unleashed this madness.

"The road to Hell…" He said to himself. "Paved with good intentions."

But the time for the mourning, self-flagellation, and atonement process would have to come later. Right now, there was a monster between him and his family, he meant to put that monster in the ground.

Kiryu was currently running at 94% power, enough he hoped to go the distance against SpaceGodzilla. If his terrestrial kin was any indication, then this would be a fight that risked everything.

 **CEREBRO**

Huddled inside the spherical chamber, Xavier, Jean, the rest of the students, SHIELD agent Makon and the remainder of his squad shuddered as a tremendous thud from above sounded, the lights in the room blinking.

"Any luck with the professor?" Makon asked.

"Nothing." Still groggy herself, Jean leaned an arm on the control panel, her other hand on the unconscious Professor X. "His mind is still in shock from the connection to SpaceGodzilla. I don't know what will happen if I try to force anything, or go inside."

"Well, that's exactly the opposite of helpful." Running a hand across his head, Makon took in the surroundings, trying to figure out what their plan for getting out of this mess was. His scanning of the room came to a stop on the Cerebro apparatus.

"What about that? Can we use it to contact help?"

Bobby Drake and Jean stared at the technologic headdress like it was a tool their father had told them not to touch.

"I think I could but… I've never used it before." Jean left the Professor and grasped Cerebro. She held it up before her, feeling not just the weight of the attached cables, but the magnitude of what amplifying her mind could unleash.

Dani Moonstar saw the trepidation in her friend. "Jean if you're not comfortable…We can figure something else out."

"Yeah." Drake agreed. "Maybe I can burrow us out of here somehow."

Jean shook her head. "No, we don't have time. I need to reach out for help."

As she went to put the Cerebro helm on, Agent Makon put a hand on her shoulder.

"Remember kid, you turn the juice on, that monster is gonna know about it."

"Then I better find someone fast." Without another moment's hesitation, Jean slid the device over her head, and placing her hand on the dial installed in the center of the console, closed her eyes and activated it.

Instantly she felt her mind expand like it was taffy being stretched on the rack. Then lights started to appear in the distance of her mental world, dancing fireflies of conscious minds out in the ether. These were the psychic avatars of people, a curious few spread sparsely throughout the dots were of a more amber hue. The mutant signature sticking out amongst the throngs.

What stood out the most, was a signature that dwarfed them all, the Space-Godzilla. By his motions, he was fending off an attack, for a moment its attention turned, eyes shifting to meet hers. But matters on the physical plane recaptured his interest.

A familiar voice there was however, she heard it echoing out through the void. Her perspective pulled back away from the monster and shifted in a blur to where she found a friend in a most unexpected place.

"Hank!" She cried, the other students around her perking up to the sound of their teacher's nickname. "Henry is back! And what-…"

Jean felt it, Beast was surrounded by the presence of another mind, one that felt remarkably like… "Godzilla?"

Remembering the pain and anger that had inflicted itself upon her when she tried to touch Godzilla's mind before, she dared not link to it now. Instead, she narrowed her focus, connecting to her friend.

 _"Beast! Can you hear me?"_

Inside the cockpit of Kiryu, McCoy heard the unmistakable voice of Jean Grey, and a smile managed to break through his grim mood.

 _"Yes, Jean I can hear you!_ " He thought back. _"For the love of God are you alright?"_

 _"I'm ok Henry. A bunch of us are in Cerebro with some SHIELD agents. Something is wrong with the professor, he got in a psychic fight with that monster and hasn't woken up!"_

 _"I'll be there shortly Jean, stay strong, and be ready for a rough extraction."_

"Dr. Henry McCoy, this is Colonel Glenn Talbot, United States Air Force."

In the cockpit of Kiryu, Beast's mind snapped back to what was in front of him, and the surly voice calling out to him on the overhead radio.

"I am the commander of the forces engaged with the Space-Godzilla, and I am requesting to be informed as to the nature of your plan."

Reaching up and flipping a switch on the comm system, Beast couldn't suppress a curious twist of the mouth.

"Colonel Talbot, a small group has taken refuge in the Xavier Institute, I'm going to rescue them, and then engage the monster. If you could continue to provide diversionary fire until they're safe, I'd be much obliged."

"We'll do what we can McCoy." Watching the sat-feed, Talbot crossed his arms, the earpiece and microphone framed around his jaw. "But eventually he's gonna get bored with us."

Called into action with the hope of evading the creature's enhanced senses, a squadron of F-22 swooped low to unleash their missiles before banking away hard to the right.

SpaceGodzilla wailed in response, the JDAM missiles zooming in to explode amongst his crystalline dorsal spines. Another quartz spire rose from the ground, taller than the cosmic titan himself, sending bolts of power arcing to the shoulder crystals. Levitating himself off the ground, he spun in place, spying the jets as they circled around. His jaws opened, ready to send another Corona Beam to incinerate them, but a series of thunderous impacts began to rain down. Artillery rounds smashed into the trunks of the spires, shattering a few and bringing them down in a torrent of broken shards and dust particles.

Angered, SpaceGodzilla took telekinetic control of the fragments, suspending them in mid-air for a moment before launching them in the direction the shells had come from. The shards went from hovering silently to zipping through the sky as fast as bullets.

Nine-thousand meters away, the men on the ground firing both towed and self-propelled howitzer cannons were in the process of loading more rounds in their continuous assault. Dozens of crews hurrying, coordinating their fire missions with batteries in other locations to encircle the monster and try to pen it in.

With the radiological interference of SpaceGodzilla rendering the wireless radios of the forward observers useless, they had resorted to running hundreds of feet of land wire out to where the frequency could operate. They watched from their covered positions in downtown Westchester as the cityscape was ripped apart in the upheaval of the crystal towers. When they realized the monster was launching a counter-attack and sent their warning to the batteries in the field, it simply wasn't enough time.

The artillery crews had just gotten word of the incoming strike when they began to hear the whistling from the sky. With a panicked urgency, they scrambled into the closest vehicle they could find and screamed at the drivers to punch the gas pedal. But it was too late. Hundreds of shards rained down on their positions, some as small as butter knifes, others the size of boulders. One such crystal struck the long bed of an army truck and split it in half, another tumbled along the ground and crushed several soldiers. Everywhere, the shards destroyed the artillery pieces and transformed the area into the crystalline quarry of an extraterrestrial planet.

Still linked to the quartz fragments, however, SpaceGodzilla detonated them, releasing all their stored energy in a million explosions. With his eyes to the horizon, he felt the minute shockwaves of the blasts rippling through the radio-wave spectrum. A small trill in the back of his throat signaled his gratification.

Suddenly he felt a bewildering presence nearby as if it were standing next to him. SpaceGodzilla craned his head around to look for whatever entity it could be but saw nothing. His cranial horn glowing, he began to reach out with his mind, using the spires around him to better hone the direction of the unseen eye. Unlike earlier, when he had encountered the unique signature of the earth-creatures, this one was almost frightfully familiar. Indeed, the last time it had felt a mind like this he was dying, looking through the flames into the merciless face of a being that was linked to him from across the cosmos.

Ascending into the air and transforming his body into the spiky asteroid, he headed back in the direction of the X-Men's home.

Touching down among the spires and wreckage, Kiryu loomed over the half-destroyed X-mansion.

" _Your escape is here,_ " Beast told Jean through their telepathic connection. " _Brace yourselves_."

Releasing the likewise stolen White Heron craft to hover in mid-air, Kiryu leaned down with both hands and dug them into the ground.

Inside Cerebro, the chamber started to tremble, the students shrieking in fear and grasping onto each other for support. Agent Makon instinctively crouched to better balance himself. Jean had explained to them what Beast had told her, that the Heron did not have the capacity to fit all of them. But its primary function as a tow-craft suited their needs just fine.

With all the tumult in Cerebro, Jean used the power of the machine to amplify another of her abilities, casting her telekinesis to make sure nobody went tumbling off the platform and falling to the floor. The cranial harness still mounted, she extended her arms out to the side, exerting a fine control over every object within.

Fortunate that the psychic amplifier was not located directly under the mansion when Kiryu ripped a massive chunk of earth from the ground, the shining exterior of the Cerebro chamber stood out like a diamond among the coal. Stemming from it, the jagged ends of the hallway sparked and fumed thin trails of smoke from points of disconnected lines. In the interest of integrity, Cerebro was internally powered, operating at full capacity even now as it was plucked like a potato from its burrow.

Beast was switching to the controls of the Heron when the voice of Col. Talbot came through the speakers.

"Whatever you're doing McCoy make it fast, the space monster is heading your way!"

"I'll need only a few moments longer Colonel." With his finger on the pad, Beast used his remote control to angle the craft directly above Cerebro. The magnetic locking tethers uncoiled from the belly of the Heron, lowering the clamps down on either side of the uprooted device. The fact that Cerebro was specifically designed to be shielded from magnetic manipulation had been a logistical concern, but there were workarounds.

With some quick adjustments to the programming of the locking mechanisms, the polarity of one was revered, just as the power to both was boosted. The Cerebro chamber had been one of Henry McCoy's finest works of scientific engineering. As such, he knew that it deflected magnetic attraction by channeling it around the surface, like the wind going around an airplane wing. Effectively making it invulnerable to the effects of magnetism.

When the locking clamps attached themselves to the outside walls of Cerebro, Beast grinned, seeing that his hypothesis was a practical one. The magnetic pull was channeled around the body, causing both sides to press in and maintain a tight grip.

"What's going on out there?" Makon asked, nervous about the pair of loud clangs that had just echoed throughout the room.

"Beast is getting us a ride out of here." Jean steadied her concentration, fascinated by the mental image of the Cerebro in the hands of the Mecha-Godzilla.

 _"Where are we going, Hank?"_

 _"I've programmed the location of a nearby SHIELD station into the Heron's navigational system. You'll get off there and get the Professor some help. And for the love of everything you hold dear, secure the portal sphere from the cockpit into your possession, it cannot be allowed to be damaged or fall into the wrong hands."_

 _"I'll do my best Hank, But I'm not sure-"_ Jean's train of thought was interrupted by the intrusion of another psyche, one that swept into the area preceded by pulses of white energy

SpaceGodzilla descended from the sky a few hundred yards from where Kiryu stood, glaring at the machine with an apprehensive gleam. The wrecked mansion stood between them, a boundary marker for the proverbial line in the sand. It growled across the demarcation, sensing that something beyond the apparent human construct was staring back at him with those yellow windows. Though the automaton remained motionless, SpaceGodzilla regarded it as if it might spring into action at any moment.

" _Godspeed Jean_." Beast sent the Heron on its way with a command from his control tablet.

He was glad to have taken the time to look over the manual controls of Kiryu the previous night. The design and configuration had gone through successive adjustments and improvements after combat encounters with Godzilla, Pulgasari, and the warships of the Vortaak, making them faster and more responsive. Normally it would take weeks to train a pilot to proficiency. Henry McCoy however, was a quick study.

With the bystanders out of the way, Beast set the tablet down and laid his paws on the controls.

"For thus into the fire, I plunge my sword and my heart."

SpaceGodzilla snarled and emitted a guttural warning.

"Let not the countenance of evil wither my resolve nor forestall my hand to noble violence."

Kiryu took a step forward, arms rising to a combat readiness.

"Let my courage be true and the strength of my arms fail not."

The Apollo dagger slid out of Kiryu's right wrist sheath with a crackle of lightning, it's glow reflecting in SpaceGodzilla's slit pupil.

"For into the baleful dragon's maw do I strike, its blood do I seek."

Sparks and arcs of cosmic power snapped between the towers and SpaceGodzilla's shoulder spikes, the monster wailing.

"In the intimacy of battle, we are both consumed, to glory or death."

Beast let his finger hover over the button to activate the back thrusters, "Oh, that was good Hank, you've got to remember to write that one down."

Kiryu rocketed forward, dagger drawn-up to deliver a slash across SpaceGodzilla's throat. The cosmic titan lashing out with a Corona beam that traveled in a long arc before pivoting downwards and darting around Kiryu. The blade reached out, the edge coming within a few meters of the midnight blue throat. But it went no further, held back by the monster's invisible telekinetic force.

As the two combatants glared at one another, the sound of a crash broke the stalemate. Beast forced Kiryu to break away and turn its cameras around. Not far away, he spied the burning wreckage of the White Heron, the Cerebro chamber next to it askew and cracked on the ground.

"NO!"

His adversary diverted, SpaceGodzilla drove his claws into Kiryu's back, raking them downwards and sending currents of crimson energy surging into the superstructure. The mecha's knees buckled as it fell away, collapsing to one. In the cockpit, Beast was tossed forward and back in the seat, a shower of sparks raining in the cabin.

Just as SpaceGodzilla was approaching from behind, Kiryu swept its tail into the creature's side, lacerating the flesh and causing the monster to stumble.

"The battle with your brother revealed a weakness in close combat," Beast said with a bit of anger. "How unfortunate for you that such is my specialty!"

McCoy knew he couldn't waste time, not with his friends in dire need, not against a foe this capable, and not when the Absolute Zero Cannon took forty percent of the battery to fire. As the space demon cried out in pain, Kiryu used its thruster to spin on a heel and drive its shoulder into SpaceGodzilla's chest, bowling them both over into what remained of the X-Mansion.

Reawakening with a painful ache, Jean Grey felt herself being helped to her feet. At her side, Bobby and Dani looked at her with fearful expressions.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Something hit the little jet," Bobby told her, holding her by an arm to settle her against the Cerebro station. "You were still holding us in place when we hit the ground, then you fainted."

The inside of the chamber was pitched forward, most of the others electing to lay on their backs upon the catwalk to keep themselves from tumbling off.

"It must've been the exertion." Glancing around, Jean saw that Professor Xavier was miraculously staring over at her through barely open eyes.

"Professor!"

"Hello, Jean," Xavier muttered, speaking through a clearing haze. "I take it we're not out of the woods yet?" Like in the helicopter, the base of his chair was attached to the platform by a block of ice

"Not even close." Grunting with effort, Agent Makon and two of his men were trying to pry the doors apart, with no success. "I don't know if you can tell, but your big blue buddy is keeping the SpaceGodzilla busy, which means we've got the chance to make a break for it. The paneling of this room cuts-off my radio comms, but if we can get outside, I can call for a lift"

Checking the contents of the pouches on his tac-vest, he withdrew a futuristic-looking small pistol from a side pocket.

"As luck would have it, however, the door is jammed shut on us."

"What is that?" pointing to the device, Dani cocked her eyebrow.

"This, kid…" Makon held it up for her to see, and pressing the trigger, showed her the bright white flame that shot out 4-inches. "Is an S-1-1-12, Compact Plasma Cutter. Or in our case, a skeleton key."

Xavier wasn't impressed "I'm afraid that won't work Agent. Those doors are designed to resist the weaponry of the Sentinels, you're little cutter is little more than a butter-knife in comparison."

"You ever see what a man can do with a butter-knife?" Makon put the plasma flame to the crevice between the door panels. The metal started to glow, superheating but not losing its coherence to a melting point.

"Drake, I'm gonna need you over here kid."

"Coming right up!" Letting go of the grip for the hand on the Cerebro panel, Bobby let himself surf his way down the walkway, jumping over others as he went. Using a blast of ice to create a stop for himself, Bobby looked at the heated area, still not quite understanding what his part to play was.

"See this hot spot?" Makon asked, "Freeze it, cold as you can."

"Ooooohhh…." Iceman grasped, "This is like that science experiment Doc Beast showed us, with the hot coffee glass in the freezer."

Drake rubbed his hands together before extending them both at the glowing-hot metal. Thermal physics still in effect, the steady sound of cracking let Makon know it was working.

A portion of the door burst away from the rest, the SHIELD man using the butt of his combat knife to knock away a bit more. When he was done, a small hole to the other side was created, not larger than a peephole, but it satisfied him.

"Alright Drake, now what I need you to do, is keep feeding ice into the cracks we've created. It should be enough to force them apart, and we can start putting people through."

Sparing a glance back to Charles, Makon gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry Professor, we may need to leave the chair."

Xavier huffed a small chuckle. "I've got more." He gestured over to his student with an outstretched arm. "Be a dear Jean, and help me to Cerebro."

A Corona beam sent rubble and sparks flying into Kiryu's face as it carved a path through the earth, doing its job of putting distance between the dueling giants. The haunted machine reeled but retaliated with a twin maser beam from its oral guns. A multi-faceted translucent shield met the artificial lighting and deflected it, letting the veins of energy wash over.

SpaceGodzilla siphoned another charge of power from a nearby crystal tower, replenishing the expenditure from the protective buffer and to heal the gash on his right side. If the outer visage wasn't enough, there was the persistently vexing feeling that he was facing one of his kin, it was a sensation that agitated his every nerve. Once more he called out with a piercing cry, not one of aggression or challenge, but to connect.

But it was someone else who made a connection.

" _Henry! My friend!_ " Xavier said through the amplification of the Cerebro harness. At this distance, he wouldn't normally require it, but with the chaos of the situation, he wanted the ability to power through it clearly.

" _Charles!_ " McCoy called back in his mind, simultaneously fixing in the targeting systems for the ballistic missiles. " _Are you and the others alright?_ "

 _"We're alright Beast, currently attempting escape. Listen to me, the monster is confused and lashing out. With the might of Cerebro, I may be able to calm him enough for you to subdue him."_

" _Every little bit helps_." After flipping a series of switches, Beast removed a safety latch over a red button and pressed it.

A dozen missiles shot out from the batteries hidden among the power storage units built around the spinal plates. The ballista went in a long arc before orientating back down. SpaceGodzilla reacted by conjuring another shield, but he was not the target. The missiles sprayed out, attacking the crystal spires, blowing them to pieces in a firestorm.

The screech of rage from the space monster penetrated even the walls of Cerebro, Xavier and Jean grimacing in pain more from the psychic pulse than the sound. But while the confines of the sphere and their own telepathic power took most of the brunt, Beast had no such protection.

The mental flare hit McCoy like the whiplash of a car hitting a telephone pole, disorienting him and inflicting a substantial migraine. His head drifting back from the concussion, a dribble of blood seeped out of his nose, combed through the fur on his upper lip and onto his teeth. With the pilot incapacitated, Kiryu slumped where it stood, head and limbs falling limp.

SpaceGodzilla moved in, levitating above the destruction on the ground. It drove a kick into Kiryu's chest that rocked the machine, testing the response. With a satisfied growl, he realized his enemy was defenseless. Spinning in place, SpaceGodzilla's tail whipped around with the intent to batter the side of Kiryu's head in.

The tail was met by the upraised energy dagger, slicing into the flesh and casting a trail of blood. Recoiling from the surprise more than the pain, the cosmic monster retreated to the safety of his crystalline stronghold, much warier of his emotionless opponent.

Inside the cockpit, Beast began to rouse from the neural trauma, bringing a furry paw to his head. Blurs of memory faded in and out of his conscious mind; training with Scott, Jean, and Warren, running for his life as a huge man in a round helmet broke through a wall, tending his stubborn rosebud. But other memories began to show themselves, ones that he hadn't lived. A lush island trembling before an oncoming brilliant light, a fishing ship bursting into flames, a bell tower and its irksome tolling, a little man in a funny suit holding something in his hands.

Hank McCoy snapped out of this dream with a gasp, heartbeat racing and senses heightened. His face twisted in a feral sneer, fangs bared against some phantom enemy, vision consumed in red. The mania was passing, however, and the crimson-lust dissolved into a slowly clarifying state of reason. After a few moments of hurried breath Beast looked at his surroundings, the array of controls and lighted buttons reminding him of the current situation.

"You're still in here aren't you?" He asked in a whisper. In studying-up on Kiryu, Henry had seen the parts about the machine being hijacked by the ghost of the original Godzilla. The skeleton of the creature recovered from the mud of Tokyo Bay was the literal backbone of the mecha-Godzilla, providing the strongest possible structural reinforcement to contend with the titans of the modern kaiju era. Admittedly he had found it hard to believe that a monster's spirit had paranormally seized control on two occasions. Nonetheless, here he was.

He received no reply from the confines of the room, nothing to signify the presence of a poltergeist armed with ballistic missiles and maser beams.

"Hmmm. Must've been a programming reflex to imminent contact." Beast had seen no such thing in his research, but Occam's Razor deemed it a more reasonable explanation than the war-machine being haunted. An otherworldly wailing drew his attention to the monitors, showing the SpaceGodzilla had retreated for the time being.

"Alright then… Shall we continue?" Once more under the control of the veteran X-Man, Kiryu advanced on his opponent. With an eye on the power levels, Beast chose to give himself cover fire by way of the oral masers. A titanic shard of a broken crystal was levitated in the way, however, absorbing the plasmatic bolts.

"Oh dear…"

Projecting the energized shard in the direction of Kiryu, SpaceGodzilla detonated the crystal.

"That's it, Kid!" The door to Cerebro had been continuously wedged apart by the ice, Agent Makon observing the progress with growing optimism. "Just a little more!"

Something finally snapped in the mechanisms behind the door sections, the pressure to close released.

"That should do it."

First one, then dozens of rounds punched through the ice until the SHIELD agents were able to smash their way through with the butts of their weapons and stiff kicks. The aperture was widened enough for them to force the partitions back, creating a space large enough for all to climb out. The agents went first to make sure it was safe, then some turned to help the students as others cleared an exit route.

Stepping foot on the ground outside, Agent Macon pressed the talk button on his radio and heard only static. "Something's interfering with the signal, we'll have to put some distance between us and the monster."

He saw Jean and Xavier still at the Cerebro consol, the professor held up by his protégé.

"If you can read my mind!" Makon yelled to them. "You should know we need to un-ass this area! Now!"

"I'm afraid we'll need to stay here and help Henry." Xavier's voice floated through Makon's mind, with not a trace of panic or fear. He now wore the Cerebro apparatus. "I will not leave my friend to face this demon alone."

Bobby Drake propelled himself on a frozen walkway to face his mentor. "Jean! You can't be serious!"

"Look after the others, Bobby." She told him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder coupled with a confident hardening of her stare. "Get the Portal Sphere out of the plane, and help the SHIELD agents get the others to safety."

"I thought the X-Men never left a man behind?!" Drake demanded impetuously.

"Technically Bobby, you're not an X-Man yet. You've still got a little ways to go. And one thing a real X-Man does in battle is follow what the leader tells you to do."

"But…but-!" Drake stammered to protest but found no surrender in her resolve.

"It's alright Bobby," Jean assured him. "The X-Men will persevere."

The sudden explosion and flare of light from the outside motivated Jean to shove Drake away from her, telekinetically ushering him through the door and out to where the others waited.

Seth Makon shook his head, begrudgingly putting one leg outside. "I sure hope you guys know what you're doing."

"Fighting monsters is nothing new to us, Mr. Makon," Charles remarked. "Even if they are typically of the human variety."

The energized crystal exploded, hitting Kiryu with a shower of white-hot shards and enough force to stagger the machine.

"I've got to close the gap!" Beast cursed, powering the levers forward to advance. Kiryu stomped through the battlefield, giving SpaceGodzilla a visceral sense of déjà vu. A Corona Beam lashed out, curling around a raised defensive arm to strike at the back power cells. The blow caused a show of sparks, but Kiryu remained on course.

Still appraising the capability of his foe, SpaceGodzilla watched as a dozen more missiles were launched from Kiryu's dorsal batteries, shooting upwards into a long vertical climb. He tracked their arc, building another Corona beam in his maw to intercept them.

The Maser bolts stuck SpaceGodzilla in the chest, taking the monster by such a surprise, it screamed out as it fell to the ground and crashed into one of the largest crystal towers. Its own cumbersome physiology became a new distraction as it tried to stand, the missiles rained down hellfire and thunder. A mournful cry of agony rung out through the billowing smoke and fire.

Beast winced at the sound of the SpaceGodzilla's cries, against his conscious will to hate the creature. For all his own frightening appendages and features, a pang of remorse for the monster still pinched his heart. As one who knew what it was like to be a man in the shape of a monster, the anguished wailing of another living creature was not something welcome to him. This creature, however, was not some innocent, blundering into circumstances that necessitated violence. It knew perfectly well what it was doing.

A crackle of energy sizzled across the flat of the Apollo dagger as Kiryu approached the downed space monster. Knocking aside a crystal tower with its tail in stride, the path was clear to put an end to this conflict, a conflict which Beast felt no small part of the responsibility for. His mind recalled one of his favorite paintings, one of the armor-clad Saint George poised with his needle-like sword at the throat of the wriggling dragon.

"If only my father could see me now."

The dragon built by man stood over the dragon borne from the stars, blade reared back, ready to plunge it into the creature's heart. But as the deathblow came, the arm was halted.

SpaceGodzilla lay with its own hand raised opposite, its force of will projected to stay his rival's attack. A savage growl emerged from his gullet, cold hatred rejuvenating his determination.

An invisible wave struck Kiryu, knocking the walking weapon off its feet and onto its side. Bracing himself this time, Beast rode the turbulence through and noted the several indications of damage to the robot's right flank.

As if pulled aloft by strings, SpaceGodzilla rose from the ground to loom large, his shoulders drawing bolts of energy from whatever spires still remained upright. A fiery serpent was unleashed to wreak havoc across Kiryu's mid-section and the surrounding ground, torching the rubble of houses and trees and setting the landscape ablaze. Kiryu tried to rise, but a spark from its lumbar signaled failure, and it collapsed to the earth.

His unnerving opponent seemingly overcome, the SpaceGodzilla amplified his strength with power drawn from the crystals, intent on seeing this strange likeness of his breed torn asunder. He opened his jaws to spit cosmic fury but found his muscles immobilized.

"Professor?" Jean asked, her face tense with worry. Beside her, Xavier gripped the sides of Cerebro's control panel, his teeth bared under the strain of exertion.

"If I can distract the creature long enough, get it to focus on me, I can create an opening for Henry." Concentrating all his might, it took everything he had to keep the monster from delivering the final blow. But SpaceGodzilla was not without recourse, pushing back against the imposition, its cranial horn shimmering.

On the psychic plane, like before, both mutants faced one another in a contest of will. Telepathic representations of each trying to force the bulwark of their psyche past the other. Charles' was well-honed, expertly trained and refined, his will shown a brilliant blue. SpaceGodzilla's was raw power, fueled by anger and ruthless domination, its will burned with golden fire. The two forces pushed against each other, pulsating and throwing off flashes.

In the physical world, Beast saw on his monitor that the creature was engaged on another plane, staring off into the distance, its face twitching.

"Hold him long enough Charles, and I'll finish this!"

The controls finally responded, and Kiryu rose from the ruin, gears groaning and joints sparking. Facing the occupied monster, the chest panels opened, revealing the mighty weapon built into its core. Lights began to swirl above the center cannon as the energies gathered.

Beast grit his teeth as he went through the process of firing the Absolute Zero. "All I need is one good shot."

Xavier began to feel his grip on the monster breaking, the sheer magnitude of its psychic prowess like a man trying to wrestle a bear. He knew that the monster had felt the brunt of his power already, and probably decided that it could trump him. After all, it was the intervention of Jean that had prevented it from doing more damage in their first encounter.

Staring down his alien adversary, Charles redoubled his effort. "Do you think you're the most terrible thing I've had to contend with, creature?"

Unmoved, the astral kaiju answered with his own terrible telepathic warcry. _"I will be your last!"_

The Absolute Zero Cannon accumulated its shot, a cold slug that froze on the molecular level, one of the three super weapons developed specifically to fight kaiju. Beast watched the targeting reticle fix on the still possessed SpaceGodzilla, his finger ready to mash the button the second he got an affirmative signal from the computer.

The struggle in the mind's eye continued, the edges of Xavier's barrier starting to fray and splinter, burned away by the cosmic fire of the monster. For his own part, SpaceGodzilla advanced, exploiting the faltering potency of the Professor. As incredible a mind as Charles was, he simply did not possess the physical stamina to contend very long with a monster bringing this level of power to bear. Eventually something would give.

 _"You… cannot match me human!"_ Came the growling voice.

Xavier grit his teeth, a vein in his forehead ready to burst.

" _I don't need to!"_

The targeting reticle turned red, and without hesitation, Beast fired the Absolute Zero canon.

For all the concentration it took to deal with the human, the SpaceGodzilla's attention was not totally diverted. It caught the flash of light in the corner of its vision, and in a split second, a multifaceted crystalline shield appeared.

The frozen blast struck the surface in a fantastic crash of sparkling light, diffusing the shot in a million directions other than the intended victim.

Beast stared at the dissipating particles of frost drifting down through the air, through them, the murderous serpentine glare from SpaceGodzilla practically smoldering in return. "Heaven help us." He muttered, knowing without looking that Kiryu's power levels were now below 40%, not enough to fire the cannon a second time.

SpaceGodzilla screamed, on both the physical and mental plane. His mental avatar dispersed his force of will into several snaking bolts, they wrapped around Xavier's barrier and struck at the man from all sides.

In Cerebro, Xavier cried out with a bloodcurdling howl, the cables of the head apparatus themselves lighting up as the attack surged through the connection. His arms gave out and he collapsed against the console, the helm falling away to dangle limply.

Jean Grey rushed to wrap her arms around him, "NO!" she yelped, urgency leading her to forego telekinesis and press his surprisingly frail body against hers for support. She knelt on the platform, cradling him as he squirmed and spasmed. She could still feel the psychic heat of the attack, the connection between man and monster scorched by the cosmic power employed.

Professor X twitched and seized, mumbling incoherently. She hugged his overheated head to her breast, a tear breaking away to fall upon his naked skin.

Somewhere inside Jean, she felt a fire of her own beginning to grow.

The intrusive human dealt with, the cosmic titan now focused his rage on the mechanical imposter, a sense of abhorrence developing. It could not allow this… thing… to continue existing.

With the greatest weapon no longer on the table, Beast steered Kiryu forward, prepared to spill the lifeblood of a creature unique in all of existence. The scientist in him regretted that such a sacrifice must be made, that some type of civilized medium could not be found. But the tragedies of the X-Men proved that sometimes there were no accommodations to be met.

Corona beams thrashed like angry worms at the striding Kiryu, but an upraised Apollo Dagger caught the beam in a defensive move, canceling out the energy in a flare of sparks.

Trying a new tactic, SpaceGodzilla reached out with the gravity tornado, intent on taking the machine off its feet. The effort, however, was much more difficult than last time, the added munitions and armor making the MechaGodzila heavier than the organic successor.

Pressure sensors dropped in the cockpit, Beast recognized the signs of a levitation attack, having seen more than plenty of it in his time.

"Ha!" He called out in derision. "And here I thought you'd show me something new!"

As Kiryu was lifted from the ground, the dorsum and thigh thrusters came to life, propelling it straight for the suddenly backpedaling blue demon. A translucent shield came up, but the sheer weight and momentum of the machine broke through the construct. Colliding into its astral kin, Kiryu plunged the Apollo Dagger into SpaceGodzilla's left shoulder below the crystal pauldron. The two fell in a tangle to the ground, the mecha driving its weight behind the blade.

A gust of blood was drawn from the wound, triggering an ear-splitting wail of the monster's pain that was stunted only by the hasty action of Kiryu's other fist hammering down on his snout. The dagger cut upwards into the crystal, carving through the stellar quartz to cleave it in half.

Agony and alarm reflexively provoked an Omni-directional pulse of cosmic energy surged forth from every inch of SpaceGodzilla's body, throwing the android sideways from the pile. Kiryu skidded into the ground but was staggered only briefly, the internal circuitry shielding earning every cent they had spent to install it.

Even had the SpaceGodzilla desired to escape the conflict, the damage to his shoulder now disrupted his ability to levitate. There could be no retreat now, the threat from the machine had to be eliminated. He summoned a crystal spike to his side and sent it like a javelin at the now uncovered midsection of Kiryu. In a whirl of motion the shard was deflected by the dagger as the metal dragon spun and came back around with its oral masers firing as he advanced.

Kiryu's masers were checked by a Corona Beam, the conflict of energy producing otherworldly sounds as they warped the nature of reality in their struggle to dominate.

SpaceGodzilla dropped a hand low, manipulating the power inside a crystal spire to its peak.

But the X-Man saw the attempted ruse. "Don't think you can outsmart me!". Kiryu crouched, then leapt forward to drive a foot into SpaceGodzilla's chest. The hidden crystal was thrown but went stray as the monster was pitched backward and onto its knees.

Kiryu moved in, seizing the broken shoulder crystal with both hands and tearing the sides apart. The outside section ripped away with a horrible noise, tons of extraterrestrial blood gushing from the mutilated joint. As the astral titan mewled in pain, Kiryu raised the Apollo Dagger, stabbed it between the symmetrical dorsal crystals, and channeled terawatts of plasmatic volts directly into the SpaceGodzilla's spine.

A wide-eyed screech from the monster belied its tail creeping into position. The sinewy appendage wrapped around the mecha's ankle and yanked it out from underneath. Stronger, far stronger than it would seem, the tail pulled Kiryu to the ground, simultaneously holding it down as SpaceGodzilla got back to his own feet.

The hybrid kaiju seethed with rage, bleeding from his shoulder, back, and tasting blood between the fangs. His tail still lassoed around Kiryu's leg, SpaceGodzilla pivoted his hips, slinging the machine into a rising arc before slamming it down in a storm of dust and debris. Whatever had been left of the quaint countryside of the Xavier estate was now just as pockmarked and defiled as the plains of World War 1.

Warning alarms and sparks showered Beast in the cockpit, himself not wholly protected from all the tumult by his seat's harness. During the elevation and impact, he had felt the momentary weightlessness at the apex, then felt the straps dig into his flesh upon crashing down, his brain forced to slam against the insides of his skull. A concussion clouded his vision, making his attempts to steer Kiryu comical in their ineptness. But his hand did find the hydraulic lever, his furry fingers gripping it and pulling back.

Kiryu rose from the ground, its left elbow sparking and moving with a noticeable looseness. Its motions were jerky but steady, rising like a boxer well past his prime for one last hurrah. Hand clenched, Kiryu lunged out with the Apollo Dagger in a haymaker attack. But the swipe fell short, something suddenly preventing the arm from reaching.

The crystal spiked tip of SpaceGodzilla's tail stabbed into the exposed midsection of the machine's abdomen, and with a twist carved out the artificial innards.

"Oh no." Looking at his diagnostic readings, Beast saw power to the extremities failing fast. "The lines must have been damaged." He realized. "He's going to disembowel Kiryu."

SpaceGodzilla channeled his telekinesis along the muscles of his tail, enough so that it lifted the war machine off the ground. The monster gazed up at his weakening foe, raising its claw as if in gesture that Kiryu was a plaything in his grasp. It growled, the pain emanating out from its injuries fading from the forefront, pushed aside by the climax of hatred. He watched as the armor plating around the kaiju construct's neck started to crumpled under the force of the invisible throttling.

A memory flashed before his eyes, an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. In front of him he saw the head of another metallic doppelganger in his grasp, felt the tension about to give way before the neck snapped and the head was severed from the body. It lasted only half a heartbeat, but the sensation was one of rewarding familiarity.

McCoy tried to think of a way to counterstrike, but nothing seemed available. With the power core disabled, no weapons could be fired, no physical combat engaged, not even a last resort detonation. Kiryu was dead on its feet, and Beast just prayed that he'd survive whatever final blow the cosmic creature intended to deliver.

"Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."

A pulse went through the air, vibrating through every molecule. SpaceGodzilla snapped his head to the side, a sense of something… powerful in close proximity. A perception of things beyond that of mere human or mutant, the power emanating from the wreckage of Cerebro was more than just a tingle on the back of his neck or a suspicion of being watched. In the scope of his vision, he saw arcs of burning power, like ribbons of fiery plasma ejected from the surface of a star. He didn't understand what it was, how the power of a sun could be coming from something so small. But he did know that he should be afraid of it.

As Jean Grey held her mentor and surrogate father in her arms, feeling his gentle frame convulse, it was not sadness that assumed control of her heart. Rather it was rage. A hatred that she had feared to unbridle from her subconscious, unleashed into freedom to destroy and recreate. The feeling amassed in her breast, from the flicker of a candle to a cosmic inferno. Her eyes went white, her mouth opened to scream, and the tears on her face evaporated as brilliant crevices sundered her cheeks.

The Cerebro chamber was destroyed in an instant, consumed and obliterated in a holocaust of blinding light. The bits of debris remained suspended in motion, however, a living still-frame of an explosion one fraction of a second after ignition. From within the center of it all, stood a burning form, a woman covered in flame. She stretched out her arms.

Even the astral demon SpaceGodzilla was forced to shield his eyes from what emerged, losing the focus to maintain his grip on Kiryu, the mecha fell to its feet.

A fire spiraled upwards from the ground, up higher until it combusted in the air. SpaceGodzilla craned his head in awe, eyes wide in bewildered shock.

The Phoenix, cosmic avatar of creation formed itself from the flame, announcing its presence with a cry that rippled through the very fabric of space-time, its wings spanned the sky.

For a few moments, the two alien entities stared at one another, each of them strangely curious about the other. SpaceGodzilla felt as if it was encountering something as primordial as the forces that spawned it in the void.

"Good God…" Colonel Talbot said, watching the display from the safety of his drone feeds.

Beast's mouth hung open, a mix of fascination and horror. He knew what the manifestation of the Phoenix meant, and he feared for the fate of his friend Charles, and for the soul of Jean Grey.

"Deus Ex Machina."

His contemplation was interrupted, however, when a tremor went through the superstructure of the mecha. "If you really are in here.." He asked aloud. "We could really use your help." McCoy thought back to the dinner show he had watched with Admiral Tachibana, the mythology of a people worshipping Godzilla, offering sacrifices to placate his whim. Now as he sat in the literal belly of the beast, he felt himself a connection, the way those ancient islanders might have felt about their mysterious god of the depths.

Despite the enthrallment, a groaning gear from Kiryu was sufficient to draw his attention. Wiped of malice, SpaceGodzilla looked to what he had considered an abomination and saw something startlingly new about it. The illuminated lines that ran down its cheeks were no longer yellow, they had turned a bright red. Before his mind could process this information, the Apollo Dagger was thrust up into SpaceGodzilla's throat. It happened so fast, he had no recourse but to gurgle and let the crimson ichor seep from his lips.

Kiryu held its enemy's head in place, moving its own in closer to bring them nearly nose-to-nose. A final defiant roar was the machine's last act before its eyes went dark and the frame sagged once more.

The dagger slipped from the monster's throat as the arm fell away, SpaceGodzilla pedaling back, trying to reach for the wound with arms much too short. The injuries he'd sustained could be healed with enough time, that much his terrestrial ancestry would ensure. But as he returned his gaze to the waiting Phoenix Force, there was the familiar feeling of calm before the end.

The Phoenix Force brought its wings together around SpaceGodzilla, engulfing the kaiju in a cosmic fire. A piercing wail was all he could offer as the flame burned away his flesh and blasted away his crystal growths. As his body dissolved, embers of light began to appear, drifting up and away. Strength gave out and the monster fell to his knees, the sheer pressure of the Phoenix's attack the only thing preventing SpaceGodzilla from collapsing. His face was peeled away, revealing a skull that was a mixture of bone and shimmering quartz. The purging flame continued to devour until the sternum shattered, the catalyst for the rest of the skeleton vaporizing into the glowing particles.

Very quickly, nothing was left. SpaceGodzilla was destroyed bodily, his earthly remains reduced to flakes of ash, the sky became an enchanting spectacle in the twilight. When the flaming wings came apart, the Phoenix cocked it's ethereal head, acknowledging its work with a rumbling cry.

Like the yolk of an enormous egg, an orange sphere in the center of the floating Cerebro pieces contained the sleeping Charles Xavier. In a second, the various dispersed fractions of the chamber came back together, reassembling so perfectly it was as if nothing had happened. Xavier's protective orb slowly descended and placed him on the walkway with all the gentleness as a mother would her baby.

At the edge of the war zone, where trees still stood, Agent Makon, Bobby Drake, Dani Moonstar and the others stood watching the aftermath of the monster's defeat. Bobby held the Portal Sphere in his hands as he stared out numbly to where the mansion had once stood.

"Do… Do you think they're okay?" He asked Makon.

"Not gonna lie to you kid, but I have no idea. Hopefully, recovery teams will be able to move in once that thing clears out." Shaking his head, the senior agent spotted the twin rotors and elongated fuselage of a Chinook helicopter making its way towards their location.

"But let's get you all someplace safer first."

Makon walked over to one of his men wearing a black backpack and took out an olive-green canister with a yellow stripe around it.

"POP SMOKE!" He announced, pulling the pin and tossing the smoke grenade into the nearby clearing. A mustard shaded fume spewed from the canister, providing a means to flag the craft to their position.

On the neck of Kiryu, the escape hatch swung open, Beast limped out to stand on the shoulder. He watched as the Phoenix soared off into the distance.

"Let us pray she does not burn us all."


	19. Chapter 19: Land of the Gods

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY! BLESSED SAMHAIN!**

* * *

 **OSAKA, JAPAN**

 **2000**

Whole square blocks of the center of the city were trashed, smashed through and demolished in the fight. True, Megaguirus had given Godzilla a tough time, tougher than the agile monster's physique might suggest. But now the fight was over, his opponent's great weapon now nothing but hollow shards that he had spat out. The ancient insect queen wailed, her tail stinger severed, her brain panicking. Godzilla wasted no time on ceremony, and unleashed the full wrath of his golden atomic breath.

The first blow knocked her from the sky, the nuclear fire consuming her. A second struck before she even hit the ground, obliterating the fiendishly fast foe once and for all.

As he watched her corpse burn, his anger was not yet sated, his urge to continue his ongoing war of revenge on humanity riled-up by battle-frenzy. Any buildings left standing in the area were now in his path of destruction.

This continued until a fiery object crashed into Godzilla's back, distracting and confusing him for a few moments. Where did it come from? Where was an aggressor to which he could focus his rage? Suddenly Godzilla felt a strange pull coming from the sky, he looked up and saw a familiar sight. A swirling black sphere collecting debris, racing, plummeting downwards. The ground here did not lend itself to quick burrowing as last time, so Godzilla had only one defense left.

His dorsal spines ignited, glowing with nuclear power, gathering for a great moment. Indeed his whole body shuddered from the internal furnace generating the needed combination of heat and force. Finally a stream of golden fire erupted like a volcano into the sky, the head of the beam swimming up the air, pulled into a rising spiral by the gravity of the Dimension Tide ballista. When the two forces impacted, the mini black hole was actually repelled for a moment, but only a moment as the stream of annihilation slammed into it.

The sphere of nothingness overcame the resistance and continued downwards, crashing into earth and monster alike with a thunderous contact. The ground shook and the impact zone was masked in a cloud of dust. A near minute passed before the effects were revealed; a smoking crater where Godzilla had stood. Dimension Tide was victorious, and calmness took control of the day.

* * *

 **THE ETERNAL REALM**

It was the time of the Odinsleep, when the Allfather recovered his strength for the winter months. Unfortunately, this meant that Asgard was without its greatest means of protection.

The frost giants of Jotunheim, fire demons from Muspelheim, even a company of dark elves from Svartalfheim were among the multitudes of miserable and devious creatures that came to make war on the Eternal City. The plains outside of Asgard's mighty walls, as they had for countless years, served as the battlefield.

Fending off the hordes of monsters and villains, were the finest warriors in all the nine realms. Believing their seats in Valhalla theirs for the taking, they fought with a jovial confidence in the face of gnashing fangs and burning whips. Only those who died bravely on the field of battle would be chosen by the Valkyries, and would stand by Odin's side in the final days of Ragnarok.

Among the bravest and boldest of Asgard, were the Warriors Three; Hogun the grim, Fandral the dashing, and Volstagg the voluminous. As longtime comrades and renowned for their exploits both legitimate and exaggerated, it was in this yearly siege that they took pride in showing off their prowess.

Hogun with his mace used it to bash in the teeth of a fire-breathing lindorn before turning to uppercut an armored troll. Fandral parried with a dark elf, his swordsmanship deftly out maneuvering the cunning enemy. Volstagg bore himself a two-sided bearded axe in one hand, and a metal tankard in the other. As he used the axe to cleave the skull of an ogre, he took the chance to chug down another portion of mead.

The Lady Sif too was in the fray, her broadsword cutting down swarthy foes where she found them, her shield both a defense and bludgeon. A frost giant swung his axe of ice down for her head but he was too slow, and she nimbly dashed between his legs to cut the back of his heels out from underneath him. The behemoth collapsed, unable to rise.

She might have finished the creature off with a thrust of her blade through the neck, had not an interloper beat her to the punch.

The frost giant's head was driven into the ground by a blow from above, a blow that came accompanied by a column of lightning.

"Your stroke seems to have undergone some hindrance Sif, ere I would not have had to strike him down for you."

Sif followed the path of Mjolnir as it returned to its master, the mighty hand of Thor.

"Strike him down for me?" She asked incredulously. "You were waiting to steal this one out from under me were you not?"

"Perish the thought my lady." Coming down from where he hovered, Thor pointed the hammer at the slain giant, and gestured in great fashion to accentuate his tale. "This monster was about to lift his weapon and smite thee upon thy brow. It was good fortune that I was able to intercede and save thee before great tragedy."

Part of his bravado galled her sense of a warrior's honor. But most of her knew exactly what his game was. Sif approached him, slinging her sword over her shoulder and giving him a coy gaze and raised eyebrow.

"Then what boon would a grateful lady give to such a brave hero?"

Thor's brash façade faltered at the sight of the raven-haired beauty's advance. His heart beat a little faster and he involuntarily swallowed a lump of nerves.

"I… I might ask that, such a daughter of Asgard would spare her champion a token of her favor."

"Oh really?" Sif said as she laid a hand on his shoulder. She leaned in, trapping his eyes to hers.

Suddenly she lashed out with her sword, chopping it down mere inches from the left side of Thor's head.

The thunderer whipped around to see the face of a dark elf contorted in twitches of agony, it's skull cleaved in twain by her sword. A curved saber fell from its upraised hand, poised not a foot from Thor's back.

Sif extracted her blade and the elf slumped to the ground. "It appears we are even then, Thor, perhaps next time.". With that she left him to continue her portion of the battle, a smile across her lips that she kept hidden.

Thor cocked his jaw to the side. "Next time eh?" Looking around, he found a new opponent. A quadrupedal beast sporting powerful antlers and flesh-rending paws plowed through a line of Asgardian soldiers. The Bilgesnipe huffed, and turned in Thor's direction.

"Ah!" He cried in exuberance, dropping Mjolnir. "Have at the beast!"

The creature charged, and Thor met it with both arms open, wrestling it to the ground.

 **ELSEWHERE** , A gigantic eye opened. The ruined cityscape was gone, replaced by rolling green pastures and snow-capped mountains in the distance. A golden eagle was disturbed and frightened off its perch when the nostril it had been sitting on flared, and took a sniff that threatened to suck it in. Waking up, Godzilla dizzily got his limbs underneath him and rose from where he lay. Looking around and taking in his new surroundings, he found nothing familiar, this was a place he had never seen before. What's more, the world felt different, like the intricate matrix of forces he was used to being sensitive to was no longer there.

But there was energy in this world, and lots of it. All coming from an epicenter far away, where he also felt very active energy being thrown about. Curious, Godzilla began moving.

 **Back on the front lines** , the fervor of battle had begun to wane, with Asgard's champions driving back the forces of darkness and eternal winter. Most of the enemy had withdrawn, leaving behind a few stragglers to be taken care of.

A frost giant and Thor clashed, an ice axe the size of a man shattered into dust upon conflict with Mjolnir. The Odinson's swing continues clean through, reducing the other's weapon to a stump. The giant stared down at the broken shaft with dread, before looking up in time to receive the kiss of Uru metal between the eyes. Thor watched it slowly lean backwards, then proceed to fall like a tree.

"Verily, this has been a good year for felling frost giants."

"A blow well struck Odinson!" A voice called out from below. "Couldn't have done it better myself!" Sitting on the back of a downed ogre, wherein his axe was lodged in the creature's back for an armrest, Volstagg raised his mug of mead in congratulations.

"Would that the could strike such a blow." Fandral quipped, wiping his blade clean. "Were thou not too weighted to the earth."

"I have smoten many a frost giant in my more vigorous days in such fashion!"

"It doesn't count if they have to trip for you to hit them." Hogun muttered in a low tone, holding his mace across his shoulders.

Volstagg thought for a moment. "Does it count if they tripped over me?"

"The ghastly horde flees, my lord." Sliding her sword back into its sheath, Sif joined the others in their post-battle revelry. "The day is won."

"Aye, we won the day." Thor set himself upon the fallen giant, putting his hammer down. He took care to give himself room from his comrades, for he desired to mull his thoughts. "Another year, another battle, and so the cycle continues. All is well in the realm of Asgard. But only until the next Odinsleep."

Hearing this, Sif grew worried. She jumped atop the belly of the beast to sit beside him. "It is… as it has always been. We must learn to savor the moments of peace."

"And accept the cycle of death?" Thor spat. "How many of our brothers and sisters have fallen to this madness? Must we be chained to this eternal struggle?"

Sif reached out and wrapped a hand around his chin, turning his face to hers. "Be careful what you wish for my love, for when the cycle does break, when things do change, then comes the end of days. Then… comes Ragnarok."

He stared at her thoughtfully, and with great melancholy. "Perhaps our fates are not ours to choose."

But the gloom passed, and Thor rose to his feet, summoning Mjolnir to his hand. In the other he took Sif and helped her to stand.

"But come! Let us return to my father's palace, and prepare for his awakening."

 **In a mountainous region** , the retreating members of the gruesome army trudged through a gorge between cliffs. It was wide enough to accommodate the largest among them, and was a concealed route back to the domain of the one who could return them to their respective realms.

High above, watching from his vantage point on the cliff, a single Asgardian kept a close eye on their travels. Making sure none of them strayed to cause further chaos in the countryside. He was Baldur the Brave, another son of Odin, and legendary guardian of Asgard. From atop his steed, and with his spear in hand, he would oversee them until they passed beyond the borders of the kingdom.

A fire demon, walking with a lindworm on the end of a chain was the first to notice the small number of stones tumbling down the rock face.

Then the rumbling started, coming in steady rhythm, increasing in potency with every beat. The others in the throng stopped, wondering what could be creating such a thunderous sound, and where an attack might come from.

Baldur saw them starting to take better notice of their surroundings, and retreated out of their sight. He too now bent his focus to searching for the source of the mysterious quakes.

Something moved around the bend in the pass, hidden behind the rising geography. Baldur stilled his breath, for when it next appeared, and the sight of enormous bony plates reflected in his eyes he realized that it was only part of something much larger than anything that had been seen in the realm before. For the first time in his life, he was in shock.

"It cannot be…"

A short grunt echoed off the walls of the canyon, drawing the attention of the giants, trolls, ogres, and fire demons to the path before them, where the road twisted to the right and out of sight. Those in the fore knew they were pinned between the unknown threat and the mass behind them, making a swift retreat impossible. They steeled themselves to fight their way through.

Godzilla's head poked into view, catching sight of the horde assembled in the valley before him. He had never seen such a number of strange creatures, and he stopped in his tracks to examine them.

For their part the former invaders of Asgard staggered, hesitant to charge something that cast them all in its shadow. But they could not retreat, behind them were the swords and spears of Odin's warriors, not to mention the hammer of Thor. The walls were too step to climb and no means to bypass the monster were available. Their only way home was forward.

"Tis only some dragon!" A club-carrying rock troll cried out. "Made of scale and flesh!". This earned the approving murmurs of others.

The frost giants, the greatest in strength and wrath, were the first to declare war on this now foe. Almost a hundred they attacked, rushing in with their weapons crafted from the densest ice in Jotunheim. The first one struck his axe blade into the atomic titan's leg, where it broke into countless pieces.

Hoping to overwhelm the far larger brute, they hacked with their axes and beat with their fists, but inflicted no harm. A menacing growl put an end to their fruitless efforts, the blue giants backed-off to assess what this waning meant.

Godzilla scowled, and slammed his tail against the side of the cliff.

The blow smashed into the rock, sending a shockwave through the mountainside. Fissures broke the earth apart and dislodged boulders, creating an avalanche of rubble that bore down on a hapless third of the frost giants. Many others were blocked off from retreat, one tried to run, but was crushed in stride.

Baldur's horse reared up in fright, but its master would not allow it to flee, for he was too entranced by the simple display of such power.

If the frost giants could offer no challenge to the beast, it dawned on the others that they stood no chance either. A panic overtook a great many of the malign horde, and they turned to escape. Better to face the spears of Asgardians than the full wrath of the titan.

Godzilla roared as the army fled, his foot bowling through the landslide material and coming down on two giants unable to move in time. In the clambering to get out of the monster's way, several of the shorter and smaller were trampled. The very rock troll that had foolishly called Godzilla a dragon was knocked off balance, and trodden over.

Another furious bellow from the behemoth reverberated off the canyon walls. Godzilla dug his right hand into the rocks and scooped out another hailstorm of debris to chase them along.

If all Baldur saw was a monster finish off the remnants of Asgard's annual adversaries, he might have returns to the halls of his father with quite a tale to tell. But what he saw next would change his perception, indeed, he would understand this new being as a far greater danger.

Drawing in the elemental forces from around him, he felt the difference, felt how much purer the energy was. Very unlike the wild and raw radioactivity he had absorbed from the death of the one who was before that had turned his fire into the golden-orange. His spines popped and sparked with an amber hue, accumulating until they began to glow. Matching fire flickered at the corner of his mouth, curling around his lips. A blinding light coiled and gathered in the pit of his throat with a rising thrum.

Baldur watched particles of light come into being and swirl in formation, drawn into a funnel around the monster's maw. Better sense took hold of him at last, and he harried his steed in the opposite direction.

The nuclear beam erupted from between Godzilla's fangs, and burned into the ground below. Sweeping over the scrambling horde and obliterating everything that fell under its punishing touch, not even the fire demons were immune to it. Screams went up among the flames and combustions, curses from across the nine realms and bestial wailing.

Wheeling his horse about, Baldur stared, aghast to see such destruction. If this thing could summon such incredible power, what might happen if it was turned against Asgard? With the Odinsleep leaving the city without its greatest defense, he could not ignore the danger posed.

Baldur took the horn from his side and raised it to his lips, its call was loud and deep, resonating over the plains and over the mountains.

Godzilla's attention shifted.

 **In the hall of the Allfather** where Odin lay dormant in his golden vessel, the sound of Baldur's horn reached even there. Thor, who knelt at his father's bedside, raised his head in response, wondering what this could mean.

"'Tis Baldur's horn, but this is not right." Sif remarked with worry as he joined her on a balcony that overlooked the heart of the city. "Asgard's enemies are all defeated."

"And yet, the alarm has sounded." Thor mulled. "Stay at Odin's side-" He bid her, donning his winged helmet. "Should I fail to meet this threat, you must protect him."

Spinning Mjolnir in a circle at his side, Thor used its momentum to cast off, sailing to Baldur's call and out of her sight. She gazed after him, but was filled with great woe.

"But if Thor should fall, what hope has Asgard?"

 **For Baldur** , the decision to summon aid might have been the right thing to do. It might also have been very unwise. For the monster had heard the call as well, and now searched for its source. However safe he might have thought himself retreated from the place of the dark army's slaughter, it was not safe enough. Keen eyesight found him among the winding mountain paths, his steed fleet of foot not fast enough to escape Godzilla's detection.

"Make all haste!" He commanded, white knuckles griping the reigns. "'Ere we fall prey to the creature's flame as well!"

Godzilla lost interest in whatever scattered few of the invading horde was left, the path ahead of him cleared. A lone figure raced along the trail, striking his notice every now and then. Often when he was on land the humans would follow him, mostly just observing, and he rarely bothered with them.

"This gap will take the monster towards Asgard! It cannot be allowed to reach the city!"

He was not called Baldur the Brave as a jest. Guiding his steed to come alongside the titan, as close to the precipice of the edge as he could, he swung his right leg over to the left to brace himself. With a single leap he was in the air, drawing his sword and taking the grip in both hands.

Baldur came down between the bony dorsal plates, using his blade to stab purchase into the coarse skin. It stuck into the scales with a spark but held true enough for him to hang from it and get stable footing.

"A living mountain." He whispered when he realized how dense the surface was. "Armored skin harder than iron, footfalls that crush giants."

Moving hand over hand Baldur climbed, using the grooves and jagged protrusions. Godzilla's steady stride provided for an uncomplicated journey, his pace in a measured rhythm. There was a warmness too. The day itself was filled with a chilly wind, but Baldur was as warm as he could have wished as he pressed his body against the monster.

Eventually he reached the neck, where the large spines ended. The wind this high was much more violent, filling his cloak and causing it to whip and beat. He stabbed the point of his sword into the smaller, more densely packed scales as a hiker would going up a peak.

Godzilla felt something itch on the back of his head, and he reached to scratch it.

Just as Baldur reached the crest of Godzilla's head, he caught sight of the right arm coming up, a tidal wave rising only to come crashing down on him. He threw himself against the scales as the tips of the claws whooshed above him, and raked themselves back across. The fingers went on either side of Baldur, but the tip of a claw pierced his cloak, and tore him away.

Brave but not daft, Baldur screamed as he was flung through the air in a long arc. The fabric that tethered him gave way, releasing him to continue as a projectile. He now understood the perspective of an arrow in flight. Unfortunately he also knew that every arrow must inevitably reach an end.

He managed to orientate himself to see the rapidly approaching ground. As durable as Asgardians were, even he could not walk away from such a collision unscathed. Baldur prepared himself for a crash landing.

As the ground rushed up beneath him, something seized hold of him and he was taken in the opposite direction.

"Have thou learned to fly, brother?" Thor held his half-brother around the waist with a free arm. "Mayhaps thee should practice landing from lesser heights first!"

To his great relief, Baldur was brought to earth far more gently than he had expected, Thor setting him down with ease. "Tis not some new diversion of mine, brother Thor. A new monster has appeared in our realm, one that threatens the very existence of Asgard!"

"Surely you are exaggerating!" Thor objected. "Not even the combined might of the Jotuns and the Eldjotnar can breach our walls."

Baldur shook his head grimly. "I tell you brother, I saw with mine own eyes this beast lay waste to that army! They were but babes are to a man, their axes but rotten wood! With his tail he broke the mountain, with his roar the sky trembled, with his fire they were consumed."

"Far be it from me to question the witness of Baldur the brave." The testimony caused Thor to consider the matter much more seriously than he had first thought necessary. The words of Sif played over in his mind, her warning that such events could bring on the end of days.

"Dost thou think this could be Jormangundr?"

Baldur's response was a confident shake of the head. "Nay, this monster is not of our realm. The Midgard Serpent would not arrive without many other heralds, the howl of Fenris, the wrath of Surter. Besides, I am given to think that Jormungandr is still wary of thee after thy failed ambush aboard that fishing boat."

Thor mulled his course of action carefully. "Which way dost this monster travel?"

"Through the pass to the west." Baldur pointed in the direction. "It was there he met the retreating dark army. There was an impasse. Thor, the valley will guide it towards Asgard."

"Then this creature and I are at an impasse." Thor said, thumping Mjolnir into his palm. "Get back to Asgard as fast as you can, have them raise the defenses and prepare for a fight. I will stall the beast if I cannot defeat it."

As Baldur's steed appeared on the horizon, coming to the unspoken bid of its master, the god of light put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Then may thy strength fail not and thine hammer fall true."

The horse did not stop as it passed Baldur, instead he caught hold of the reigns and maneuvered himself into the mount with a graceful technique.

Thor, cast his stern gaze west.

 **Godzilla could sense** the great power that lay ahead. Though it was not like the sources of nuclear energy that he was accustomed to, whatever this was far surpassed anything the humans had ever conceived. It attracted him like a siren song, the scent of flowers to a bee, and he obeyed the temptation.

The sky began to darken, thunder rumbling as storm clouds gathered and proliferated. Godzilla stopped and stared upwards, a sixth sense for danger making him suspicious of the thunderstorm. There was something instinctively treacherous about the swirling mass, bolts of lightning streaking as the phenomena intensified. His sight narrowed with a menacing growl, he was not one to let an enemy strike first.

A surge of golden fire spewed from his maw, soaring straight for the center of the storm. It had almost reached the clouds when a light within flashed, and an object came shooting out of the formation. The relatively tiny projectile, surrounded in a nimbus of crackling electricity cut through the beam at an angle, and found its mark in the center of Godzilla's snout with a tremendous thunderclap.

The monster's head recoiled from the blow, a sharp bark of pain equally as sonorous as the cause.

Thor descended from the clouds, his arm outstretched as Mjolnir returned to it. He lowered himself until he came level with Godzilla's face.

"RETURN FROM WHENCE THY CAME BEAST! OR TASTE THE FULL MIGHT OF THOR THE THUNDERER! WHAT SAY THEE?"

Godzilla's eyes burned with rage, and he loosed an ear-splitting roar before slamming his tail and charging forward.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Hammer first, Thor hastened into battle.

 **The valley still smoldered** with the remains of the obliterated horde of giants, ogres, trolls, and elves. Even swaths of stone had been melted into rivers of slag, skeletal arms reaching out from those who had been merged into the molten rock when it was still fluid.

Two feet clad in green leather with golden buckling set down upon the blacked ground, sinking into the layers of ash and ember.

"Now what could have happened here?"

Overlooking the desolation, Loki, god of mischief was not sad, not even angry, rather he was fascinated by the magnitude of the devastation. Spear in hand he strolled through the scarred valley, examining the manner in which his annual mercenary forces had suffered in their final moments. Finally, he came upon a flattened area, one not formed after the events, but during. An enormous four-toed footprint lay embedded in the ground, shaped in detail within ripples of cooled stone and crushed bodies.

Taking in the sheer size of the track, he spun about slack jawed, trying to image just how large the creature must be.

"You must truly be something to behold, but, not a scion of Asgard I think."

He twirled his spear, "Show me what you are." At the end of the motion, he spiked the butt of his weapon into the ground, and sent a wave of green energy out in a sphere. The valley became filled with phantom figures made of translucent verdant mist. A scene from earlier recreated by the spell, the mass of monstrous warriors with their arms raised in a defensive posture, horrid faces to begin with twisted in torment. They were embroiled in flames, knee deep at the lowest, and spread across the entire pass.

Loki turned to see where they were facing, and was forced to crane his neck upwards, and upwards further as he staggered back to take in the towering heights of the monster rendered by the magic. There were many a monster of great size and configuration throughout the realms he knew of, and this creature was none of them. Its stature bespoke unthinkable power, and the vicious gleam in its eye expressed an unbridled primal fury.

A crack of thunder in the distance reflexively drew Loki's attention away from anything he was doing. The sound of his brother's work.

"And it seems that battle-hungry oaf has already acquainted himself. Why am I not surprised."

The standing visage of Loki shimmered and blinked out of existence, taking with it the still frame of the battle.

 **"NNNNNNRRRRAAAAHHHH!"** Mjolnir swung and struck the armored hide of Godzilla, again and again. But the monster gave no ground.

"Its scales are a challenge even to the Uru metal!" Thor exclaimed. "I have felled a mountain with less!"

Just as he was coming in for another attack, Godzilla's hand intercepted him, and drove Thor into the cliffside. A dozen meters he was entombed, disappearing into the instant cave. His rage unsated, Godzilla pulled back his arm, and slammed the other down above where he had put the Asgardian, imploding the hollow and crushing everything underhand. An aggressively postured roar served as a spiteful taunt.

A bolt of lightning rained from the sky, striking the spot, and blasting away the rubble. The rocks exploded as Thor emerged, bee-lining for retaliation. Mjolnir cracked off Godzilla's jaw, knocking his head off-kilter and causing him to stumble sideways and collide into the wall with a bellow.

Thor hovered in the air, weighing the measures he'd have to resort to. "I shall need more sting to my bite!"

He held Mjolnir up to the sky, where it became the beacon for a series of lightning strikes.

"Mighty Thunder!"

Godzilla peeled himself away from the groove he'd created in the side of the cliff, grumbling. The flash and crack of the heavenly bolts snapped him out of his daze, his nostrils agitated with the growing scent of ozone.

"FOR ODIN!" Thor proclaimed. "FOR ASGARD!"

Mjolnir was heaved downwards, towards Godzilla's chest, ensuring as much of the attack as possible hit. When the hammer landed, it acted as a focal point for the summoned energies, and the sky opened up with a torrent of lightning that poured down upon Godzilla. The monster wailed as the elemental power surged through his body and electrocuted every cell. Thor watched as the whole of its body was consumed, surely, he thought, surely this would overwhelm the beast.

When the attack was spent, Godzilla at last seemed to wither, his shoulders slumping and frame bending over forwards, a long tired groan as his eyes closed and skin smoked.

"It seems the beast is not without weakness after all." Thor mused, catching Mjolnir as it returned. However, when Godzilla's neck jerked, he knew something else was afoot.

His body began to glow with new inner power, arcs of blue energy raced across scales and between the dorsal plates.

"What new devilry has this monster in store?"

Godzilla straightened his back, his eyes now shining like lighthouses over a dark cove, the sparks and jolts of Asgardian lightning increasing in frequency until the spines themselves took on the hue. The raw, unfiltered radioactive energy he had absorbed from the one who was before had altered the natural process that fueled his internal fusion, tainting it. But this otherworldly power, pure and clean was like drinking spring water, its effects revitalizing and cleansing.

"My lightning!" Thor realized in terrible awe. "He has taken it for his own!"

Restored of his true power, Godzilla returned the Odinson's thunder with his own booming roar. The excess light in his eyes was taken under control and channeled where it belonged. Blueish-white atomic fire amassed in his throat, and bared fangs portended murderous intent.

"THOU SHALT YIELD MONSTER!" In an effort to preempt the attack, Thor rushed in, hoping to deliver another whack that would divert whatever was coming. But he was too late.

Fast opponents were nothing new, in fact he was recently well practiced. Godzilla unleashed his nuclear blast as Thor was just a dozen meters away, and brought the charging god to a grinding halt. Radiation sapped Mjolnir's momentum until it progressed no more. From there the percussive force of the beam took over, and sent Thor hurtling back.

"NNNNNYYYAAAAA!"

The thunderer lost his grip on the faithful hammer when he hit the ground, breaking rocks and gouging the surface as he tumbled along. He skidded to a stop face-down, his armor scorched and burns on his exposed flesh. With great strain and moans, Thor pushed off his right hand to turn over onto his back, staring up at the otherwise placid and sublime sky.

"Mjolnir…" He croaked. "To me…" His trembling hand reached out, but nothing answered the call.

Instead Godzilla approached, marching on over his foe, sparing Thor a parting roar as he was immersed in the shadow of the monster's foot.

The leg came down, 66,000 tons of nuclear powered kaiju juggernaut on top of the Odinson. Not done with any malice or tactical thought, the Asgardian merely happened to be in the way. With the next step Thor was again uncovered, though now in the center of a crater. The tail slam that followed, and buried him even further was however done with degree of reprisal. Godzilla's full-throated roar filed the canyon as he continued his journey to the eternal city.

Thor lay motionless in the depression, his nose broken and set askew. Faint, shallow breaths whistled through the distorted passageways, the only evidence that life was still in the breast of the prince of thunder. He remained in that position as the thud of Godzilla's footfalls grew softer and softer.

A pair of metal points, gleaming of gold and narrow as fangs drifted to within an inch of Thor's throat, where they idly paused.

"It would be so easy right now…"

Standing over his brother's prone form, Loki cocked his head and considered how close he was to fulfilling a long time desire.

"Wouldn't it brother? Just press a little further…" His fist tightened around the shaft of his spear, years of hatred ready to boil over into a single decisive thrust. He sneered at the object of his venom, upper lip twitching.

"But I think not. Not today at least." The spear was pulled away and held beside him. "My victory over the will not be as ignominious as slashing thy throat in some deserted gorge. No, it will be glorious, worthy of feast halls and legends. When I smite thee dear brother, there will be no question who the rightful heir to the throne of Asgard is."

Stepping back, Loki caught sight of where Mjolnir lay. He walked over and stared at it, remembering all the pain it had caused him, every time its cold smooth surface had kissed his cheek. Loki scowled at it, he detested that cursed hammer. Still… the temptation was not lacking.

Loki knelt down, and carefully grasped the handle. When he tried to pull on it though, it did not budge. No matter how hard he wrenched on it, there was nothing he could do to make the hammer slide one tiny bit. Finally his frustration snapped and he let it go, scowling down at it with a loathful glare.

"In time I shall see the broken as well." He spat, literally splattering the broad side of Mjolnir with his contempt.

The echo of a monster carried through the valley, reminding Loki that there was another pressing matter to attend.

"I can't rule Asgard if that behemoth destroys it." A sly smirk crawled over his face. "Methinks wit shall triumph where brawn has failed."

Like before, his material body dissipated in a twinkling of magic.

 **Bereft of antagonizing foes,** the thundering of Godzilla's footsteps were his only companion. With the help of the rejuvenating lightning, his body had begun to adapt to the ambient energies of this world, the source of which flowed ever stronger the closer he got. There were no human cities within sight, none of their machines pestering him, and thankfully no tiresome meganula to fend off. Godzilla's jaunt in the eternal realm might have proceeded quite pleasantly.

" _CH-CHEW_!"

The sudden familiar noise caused Godzilla to recoil in surprise, perched on the ridge overlooking the gorge, the enormous arthropod Kumonga spied down at him. Visibly confused, Godzilla had not even sensed the spider's presence before hand, he bared his fangs and warned it not to come closer. Back on their home island, it would have been a foolish thing indeed for the eight-legged villain to dare confront him so openly. Here, it defied his comprehension.

Kumonga lunged, hurling itself from the height and onto Godzilla's shoulder, mandibles salivating and rubbing against one another greedily. He tried to grab onto a leg and yank it off, but Kumonga skittered around his back. Again Godzilla reached to initiate a grapple, but the spider evaded. Finally it was the tail, coming up from behind and laying into the arthropod with a carapace-cracking wallop.

The blow stunned Kumonga, who fell to the ground and weakly tried to support itself. Godzilla reached down, seizing it by a leg to hold before him. He examined it, trying to understand how it had wound-up here, and why it had decided to do something so strange. But the answer would not reveal itself. Instead, Kumonga lashed out, grabbing onto Godzilla with its other legs, and pulling itself closer. The venomous spike nestled within its maw sprang out, and stabbed Godzilla in the side of the face.

The King of the Monsters wailed in pain, the surge of anger enough for him to bring his other arm in and smash through two of the spider's left legs. Still holding one of the right legs, Godzilla flung Kumonga against the canyon wall where it slumped and bled rivers its green ichor. A flash of blue power sped up his spines, and in another moment a burst of atomic fury was raining down on the over-ambitious arachnid.

For a few seconds Godzilla watched him burn, making sure that the confusing threat was finished. He couldn't comprehend the odd feeling he was getting, but something was wrong.

Before the corpse had even ceased twitching he was alerted by a new sound, one he was even more accustomed to. Looking upwards, he saw a dark wingspan circling, its war cry one that commanded many a kaiju to find refuge.

Rodan banked around, the terror of the skies diving to strike.

Godzilla had never considered Rodan an enemy, if anything he had been an ally on more than one occasion. Much like Kumonga, his being in this strange land puzzled him and roused suspicion.

A uranium heat beam was Rodan's greeting, strafing across Godzilla's chest and carving into the stone walls to leave deep scars. The titan reeled, opening himself up for the follow-up attack. Rodan swooped in, talons at the ready, and latched them onto bony dorsal plates. His momentum overcame Godzilla's inertia, and the tore his former comrade off his feet.

Thrown onto his back, Godzilla made sure to track Rodan's flight path, if he was going to beat him, the counter had to be timed perfectly.

With another cloud-shattering cry, Rodan prepared himself for a second kamikaze dive-bomb. Bearing a beak capable of splintering boulders, he could rip out Godzilla's eyes with ease.

It would be difficult Godzilla knew, but fear of failure was not something his brain even registered. He snarled, inviting Rodan to do his worst.

Rodan entered the canyon on a collision course, waves of sonic force ripping up everything beneath him.

Godzilla continued to bait him, slowly turning away, offering his unprotected side to the fearsome flyer.

But it was a ruse. Just when Rodan was about to strike, Godzilla swung his tail across the road, slamming it into the armored chest. Rodan was pinned to the canyon wall like a swatted fly, the power of the blow shattering his rib cage. Blood burbling up and spilling from his beak, Rodan withered and fell silent. Again, there was something about the creature before him that Godzilla regarded with mistrust, as if there was a factor he was not seeing.

Two bewildering surprises was more than Godzilla cared to experience, but he would suffer a third nonetheless. When he faced the forward path he found a new opponent. Anguirus growled, posturing like an angry dog to a trespassing stranger, ready to maul.

However Godzilla did not return the gesture, having known Anguirus for most of his life. Instead he tried to communicate with him, a series of sharp grunts and barks to prod some kind of response. But the ankylosaur did not return any sign of familiarity or even understanding.

At this point Godzilla still did not know what he was looking at, but he knew it was not his long-time companion that barred his path. His demeanor changed from wary to ireful, and issued a roar, slamming his tail to accentuate the display.

"AAAAOOOOWWW-UNK!" Anguirus answered, bounding forward all fangs and claws. He threw himself into Godzilla's clutches, the two of them disposed to conduct this brawl in a more primal fashion. The Killer of the Living snapped his savage canines at Godzilla's throat and dug his nails into flesh. They twisted in place, Godzilla with one hand on Anguirus' crown of horns to try and peel him back, the other contending with his opponent's forelimb. Snarling and wrestling, locked in combat, the realm of Asgard had not seen such a ferocious struggle since creation.

Kumonga, Godzilla saw, was restored completely and currently scaling the top of the canyon. It began shooting its stream of webbing over the entangled rivals, trapping them together in a hostile embrace.

Rodan too, was seemingly none the worse for wear. He came in behind Godzilla and rammed his thorny abdomen into the back of his head. Now inseparable, the pair toppled over with a booming quake.

 **Thor awoke to the tremor in the ground,** squinting to open his eyes under the late afternoon sun. With great strain he extracted himself from the impression, spitting a crimson gob from the side of his mouth. He opened his hand, and Mjolnir once more came to its master's summons. Placing the side of the sledge against his nose, he knocked the bridge straight and cleared the airflow.

"A new monster threatens the realm during the Odinsleep, the annual siege of giants and trolls ends in defeat as expected, and someone…" He looked down at his hammer. "-Has besmirched Mjolnir."

A rumbling in the sky made itself known, the omen of the thunder god's temper.

"Loki…"

 **As Kumonga continued to spin his web,** Rodan repeatedly passed over the squirming mass of silk, inflicting his shockwaves. Encased within, Godzilla held Anguirus at bay shoving his forearm between his jaws, unable to move it elsewhere.

"Who better to battle a giant monster than others of its kind? Though I do wonder why he thought of these three so readily?"

With his hands behind his back, Loki watched the events unfold below as he hovered in the air.

"Now if only there were some way to bend the creature to my will, it might prove useful in more than a few endeavors."

Lightning cracked, and Loki slowly turned to find Thor floating behind him.

"Brother…" Thor growled, leveling Mjolnir. "I would have words with thee."

Loki glared at him, unnerved to see the thunderer already recovering. "With all that might, must you persist in vigor as well? Have the fates no sense of shame?"

"I come not to banter idle words Loki, what have you done? What is this beast thou has summoned?"

"I have summoned?" Loki asked, placing a hand over his chest in mock offense. "I had nothing to do with this creature. Though it did provide me amusement enough watching it pummel you nigh-on to death."

Thor imagined that if his brother were responsible for this, there'd be little point in him plying his own tricks to obstruct its progress towards Asgard. But he also knew that the first rule of dealing with Loki, was that one must never trust Loki.

"If thy hands are clean of this matter, then what explains your presence here?"

Loki winced, as if the question were a pinch to his neck. "Is it not plain to see? If Asgard is laid to waste, what then will I be the king of? Shall I make my throne out of bricks of rubble?"

"Your charity warms my heart brother." Thor looked past him to where the silken coffin continued to wriggle. "But it seems our ends are aligned this day. Has thou the means to return this beast where it belongs?"

"There… may be a way." Loki teased, rubbing his chin. "Though, it will require both of us working together."

Just the sound of such a prospect was enough to make Thor grind his teeth. The trickster smiled.

"Which means, Thor, that you will have to trust me."

"I shall measure your words carefully Loki." Thor warned. "But know that if you design treachery-"

"What? Do you think I'm going to turn thee into a frog?"

"I would not put it past thee." As Thor regarded his brother warily, something strange was developing in the valley below. He drifted past Loki, seeing the cocoon was beginning to glow with an orange light from within.

"Will he now emerge as a butterfly?" Loki chuckled.

The webbing began to smoke and fume, fires breaking out in several spots. Oblivious to the danger, Kumonga closed the distance, his venom spike sliding in and out between the gyrating mandibles. Rodan was circling around for another pass, coming in low.

Half-a-heartbeat before the aerial titan was directly overhead, Godzilla detonated the nuclear pulse. The accumulated energy that had been mustering dispersed in all directions, creating a wave of incredible heat and concussive force. Every inch of webbing was instantaneously vaporized, and indeed Anguirus, Kumonga, and Rodan were annihilated in the same moment.

The wave swept over Thor and Loki, the thunderer using his hammer as a tidebreaker before him. The god of mischief however was sent toppling end over end from the sky, and crashed unceremoniously into the ground in an ugly heap. As he lay in the gulley he had carved out in his brutal landing, he stared up at the sky and issued but a single weak groan.

The illusory manifestations shattered, and the spell caster incapacitated, Godzilla shook the dust from his body as he stood. The strange imitators were gone, and with them any sign of enemy threat. With a guarded growl, the march towards Asgard continued.

"There lies nothing between the monster and the gates of the eternal city except I." Thor realized, the true depth of Godzilla's menace now dreadfully apparent. "And as long as the Odinson draws breath, he shall find me ready."

 **At the gates of the city** , the desperate stragglers of the dark army hunkered down in what had become an armistice as they stood within artillery's reach of their timeless enemies. Opting to chose the adversary they knew over the one they didn't. While archers and catapults were poised to rain their hell down on the foul assembly, other forces were being marshaled.

Baldur stood at the head of an army of Asgardian warriors, some of them freshly acquainted with the rush and carnage of battle and eager to resume their arms. The legions of the Valkyries too were gathered to defend the Allfather, clad in their distinct armor. Astride winged horses and bearing their long spears they would charge into the jaws of death without hesitation, for they knew their seats in Valhalla awaited them.

On the parapets, the Warriors Three kept eyes on the loitering horde. Fandral had obtained some information on what the danger was by having a shouting conversation with one of the Frost Giants below. "It was a leviathan." The Jotuns reported, "A moving mountain of flesh and bone, breathing a fire unlike any in the nine realms.". The description had sent no end of rumors and gossip throughout the city, that the beasts of Ragnarok had been released, that Thor had fallen in battle.

One who had abstained from the murmurs and idle speculation, Sif, sat beside Odin as he lay in dormancy. She ran a whetstone over the edge of her sword, ensuring it was good and keen. If her beloved's fears came to fruition, and he had indeed met a foe that would not be denied, she had little hope that her blade however sharp could halt something that had overcome Mjolnir. Still, she ran the stone, over and over.

 **The quiet of the valley** was broken only by the footfalls that shook the ground. Godzilla paid no attention to the deer who fled before him, or the two ravens that had been keeping a vigil by flying on a parallel course.

A crack of thunder immediately broke his peace, and Godzilla once again spied the figure of Thor descending from the sky to bar his path. Remembering the sting of this tiny beings weapon, he curled his lips back and snarled, warning that another encounter would end the same as the last.

But Thor was past boastful challenges, indeed he now had good measure of the beast's power, and had no inclination to bandy about posturing. He knew that there could be no holding back if he wished to save his home.

"MIGHTY THUNDER!" With a great heave, Thor cast Mjolnir down to the valley floor, when it created a fantastic tremor upon impact. The walls began to crumble and break, their integrity coming undone. Great landslides cascaded down on either side to fill the breadth of the pass with rubble, and block the road totally.

"Now you will contend with me monster." Thor growled. "And you shall not find my hand so gentle as before."

But Godzilla was not often swayed by opposition, indeed his primeval passion demanded only one solution, to go through his enemy. He charged.

Thor held out his hand, unmoving in the face of the oncoming titan, waiting for the right opportunity to strike, using the rage of the beast to his advantage. At such a distance he could see how Godzilla's eyes burned with fury, its irises like fiery explosions ready to engulf and destroy all who stood under their gaze. But Thor was not afraid, for he was mighty.

Godzilla's fangs were almost upon him when Mjolnir broke through the surface of the rubble heap and into its master's grip. Thor spun in place and brought its Uru kiss across the seemingly indestructible snout. Godzilla's head was batted aside, allowing Thor to follow through with an uppercut and drive the monster back.

Screeching as he stumbled, bracing himself against the wall, Godzilla swiped confounding at the space in front of him, hoping to fend off his assailant. But his retaliation was not impeded, blue light shot up his dorsal plates before he'd even regained his balance, and his nuclear beam erupted.

Thor dodged the ray as it chased him, the beam destroying everything in its wake, rock walls exploding in a shower mere seconds after he passed over them. Turning hard and towards Godzilla's feet, gaining momentum, he collided into the left shin with his shoulder and put all his might into knocking the support out. Inexorably the leg was moved, Godzilla backpedaling until his tail met the wall and he could no longer control himself. Godzilla fell on his right side, crying out in rage and bewilderment.

Unbeknownst to him, what Thor was about to do, was recreate something monumental in the histories of the Godzillas. He ascended to the top of the cliff, and with one single blow of his hammer, split off a massive chunk of stone. With a terrible cracking sound, the berg broke free and began to fall over directly onto the downed monster's back. Godzilla's eyes caught the shadow of the rock slab about to crush him.

"Thou art not so unconquerable after all it seems." The Odinson remarked.

But the boulder began to shift, Godzilla's impossible strength lifting he and it off the ground. One shoulder rose and the slab rolled in front of the beast, he gripped it around to shove aside.

Thor moved in on the other side, pressing his godly muscles into the effort of keeping the stone betwixt them. Godzilla grumbled as he felt the pressure against him, and slammed his tail down to prevent any chance of being forced back.

Inch for traded inch the boulder swayed back and forth as the full power of the two awesome beings was exerted in a fierce give-and-take stalemate, until finally, the inevitable happened. Fissures began to race through the body of the boulder from where they applied their force, the material however was unable to take the strain of the reverse tug-of-war.

Molecular bonds gave way, and the boulder splintered into jagged bits of all sizes. Thor put a hand over his eyes as the debris fell, and as such, never saw the attack coming.

A nuclear beam punched through the falling shower of rock and took Thor bodily in its span. "AAAAHHH!" Caught up in the unanticipated force of the ray, he was projected out and away from the conflict.

Victory in hand, Godzilla shot another ray into the dam of rubble, blasting it apart to clear the way. Undefeated in this day's battles, he marched onwards.

 **The Dark Elves were the first to hear the sudden and queer sound,** hearing it come from afar and grow steadily closer. Their curiosity was at last sated when Thor fell from his trajectory and landed square between two Fire Demons. Normally anyone of them would have taken the occasion to be the one who slew the mighty Thor Odinson. In the present situation however, they understood what his defeat signified.

 _BOOM…BOOM…BOOM…._

Godzilla exited the gorge, and turned his head to gaze upon the city of Asgard at last, the beacon of light emanating from the palace proving to be the epicenter of the power that had drawn him here. The fact that a civilization and an army stood in his way was all too familiar to him. Like a bear willing to brave the stings and venom of the beehive, Godzilla proceeded.

Having seen the monster's wrath up close, the groups of giants, trolls, and ogres had no wish to share the fate of their fallen comrades. They turned and fled in their numbers, scattering as rabbits do before a fox. The defenders of Asgard had no place to run however, this was their home, and they would not be driven out of it as long as they could still hold a sword.

"STEADY YOUR HEARTS WARRIORS OF ASGARD!" Baldur called out to quell a tremor of activity among the men as they laid eyes on the atomic titan.

"Steady your bowels more like it." Fandral added under his breath as he stared in awe.

"FIRE!" The younger son of Odin commanded, loosing the catapults and trebuchets to launch their missiles. But just as he had thought, the effort was a paltry one as the monster continued his approach unfazed across the plain. Warriors gripped their weapons tighter, knowing that the creature would soon be upon them.

The Valkyries then took their turn. "VALKYRIES, WARRIORS, YOUR SEATS IN VALHALLA ARE PROMISED!" The leader of the armored maidens cried as they descended from the skies at full charge. "PROTECT ODIN WITH YOUR LIVES! FOR ASGARD!"

Godzilla heard their battle cry, and gave them his own. Moving as a flock, the Valkyries dove, spears and lances lowered and ready. What they could not have possibly known, was that the style of their assault was very familiar to the beast. The Meganula themselves a tenacious and nimble breed of airborne foe. Anticipating their approach, he pivoted on a heel and swept his tail across the sky, and smashed through their ranks. Many were knocked from their saddles, if not both rider and steed themselves decimated. Shouts of pain and horror filled the air as they fell.

"Arise Thor!" A voice commanded, rousing the thunderer to stir. His blurry vision cleared to see Loki standing over him. He was of course confused at first, but the roar of Godzilla restored all context.

"We don't have much time!"

Loki reached down and help his step-brother to his feet. His own face a grimace of revenge. "That cursed beast is at the bloody gates!"

Thor pursed his lips and accepted the lesser of two evils. "Then we must act now, whatever your plan is you will have my aid. But woe to thee if you prove treacherous."

"Fear not, I will have my day. For now I will need you to stall the creature, keep it in place."

"That, I can deliver."

The plain was cleared, and other than the few brave or foolish Valkyries prodding about his head, no resistance remained for Godzilla. He barked at them, and the sheer volume of his voice sent the pegasus into a flailing tizzy. Staring down at the golden city, he grunted softly at all the tiny creatures assembled.

The moment was severed by bolts of lighting, raining down from the sky and surrounding Godzilla as they struck the ground. Progression halted, he tilted his head upwards at the roiling thunderhead.

Loki used his spear to carve a rune into the soil, and dispersing his image into five more of himself appearing around Godzilla, they too inscribed mystic glyphs of different kinds. When all were complete, the lighting began to connect to the symbols, illuminating them until they beamed with light.

Godzilla knew by now what the conjured storm meant, and challenged it.

Emerging from the dark clouds, Thor prepared to make sure his next hit was one that would finish this fight.

"For Odin!" He said, not as a battle cry, but as a prayer in his heart. "For Asgard!"

Griping the shaft of his hammer in both hands, he lifted it over his head, and plunged himself downwards.

Being attuned to the natural forces, Godzilla could feel the spike in power, and knew it was coming for him. Power of his own gathered in his breast, rising to the back of his throat, licking his teeth.

Two things happened simultaneously. Godzilla's beam erupted from his maw, aiming for Thor. But he was too fast, and delivered his blow to the top of Godzilla's skull with such force, the sonic wave became visible as it rang out. The nuclear ray was diverted, obliterating the broad and ornate gates of the city into splinters and shrapnel.

When the chaos cleared, Godzilla closed his eyes and fell where he stood, collapsing in the center of the magical design.

"Now Loki!" Thor called out, desperate not to waste a precious moment.

The multiple Loki stabbed their spears into the runes, and at once they were tethered by curving lines to one another, and raised a cordon of light around Godzilla, stretching up into the heavens.

His body began to fade in the light, dissolving into multitude sparkling points. Thor touched down, wanting to see the process for himself. As he vanished, Godzilla opened one eye, he and Thor sharing one last moment, one of begrudging respect.

But Loki, as he watched the beast spirited away in a final flash had a different thought, for he now knew how he might find this incredible creature once more. A dark smile crept across his face.

 _"I'll be seeing you again…"_

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_** Oh, hi there everybody, didn't see you there for a second! Thanks for coming around to WORLDS COLLIDE once more! And now you know why Loki was in the first part of the story. Be sure to tip your waitress and let me know what you though down int he comments. REMEMBER: IF you don't have an account, I cannot respond to your comment, the site has no place to deliver the message to.

P.s.: Yes, I know the ending felt rushed, but it's for the sake of the character limit over on DeviantArt, where this story is also posted, along with a whole bunch of extra content for the Godzilla|Marvel Saga, like chapter covers, teasers for future stories, and other stuff. So go find me on DA under the username **rmc1618**.

 _ **NEXT TIME:**_ The final battle! Can Wakanda and the world itself be saved from the wrath of King Ghidorah? _ONLY TWO PARTS REMAIN!_


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